


And Suddenly I Was A Lilac Sky

by pure_shores



Series: You Were Red and You Liked Me Because I Was Blue [1]
Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Crankiplier - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys who cry, Cutesy, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, First Date, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foreplay, Friends to Lovers, Hurt and comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Mention of Mental Health Issues, Mention of Therapy, No Beta, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Romantic Soulmates, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Toothache, Unrequited Love, crankiplier - Freeform, eh I'm bad at tagging, fluff fluff fluff, it is what it is, its a colourblind thing, they just stoopid bois, with a capital F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:14:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23672905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pure_shores/pseuds/pure_shores
Summary: The world is born without colour, and that's the norm - what's also the norm is that when a person meets their soulmate, colour finally blooms before their eyes. Ethan's been thinking lately about this, wondering when and where he might one day find his soulmate because he wanted to see in colour! Who wouldn't? Mark, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be too bothered about the whole deal - if & when it happens, it happens, right?
Relationships: Crankiplier, Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor
Series: You Were Red and You Liked Me Because I Was Blue [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742731
Comments: 153
Kudos: 436





	1. Ethan

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So yeah, I should mention I'm from the UK so I will be spelling a few things different and my US vocab may be a little off - if it gets too bad, just please let me know!  
> Also, I'm a teeny bit new to the fandom so please go easy on me if I get some facts wrong, etc - I'm trying to catch up on older videos, but still have a loooooong way to go.  
> And lastly, please do not bother the boys/their girlfriends about this ship - they are so cute in their relationships and I am under no delusion that Ethan and Mark will one day be together.  
> Otherwise, hopefully enjoy!

If Ethan sat down and thought about it for too long, he felt like he was going to lose his mind… But there were days that he just had to know - what were colours and when was he going to be able to see them for himself? It was on slow mornings like this that he’d sometimes let himself have a lie in, staring up at his ceiling and wondering if it really was the blank canvas that he was seeing or if one day he’d look up and it would be completely different. Would the world be beautiful or would he wish that he’d be able to go back to a colourless life, the way he was born? Mostly it was his curiosity, his yearning to know what colours particular things were. Like… what colour was his hair? Were his pyjama shorts a good colour, or were they hideous? Of course, he wouldn’t know until he found his soulmate. If he found his soulmate, he forced himself to think - it wasn’t always definite for everyone. And there was always the chance that his soulmate wouldn’t return the feelings, that he wouldn’t be their soulmate. Right now, though, it wasn’t necessarily the soulmate that was important to him. In fact, the thought that he could have a soulmate out there in the world was a little bit terrifying. What if he didn’t even like his soulmate? Of course, they were your soulmate for a reason, and you’d end up getting on with them eventually, but it was the uncertainty of it all that had him nervous. Besides… if he were to come across a stranger and suddenly be able to see in full colour, the weight of the knowledge of who that person is to him could well be far too much and put a strain on their potential future relationship.

From across the room (he needed the encouragement to actually leave bed), Ethan’s phone alarm rang harshly to signal that it was time to get up and at ‘em - feed Spencer, workout, shower, record some stuff for his channel, then head over to Mark’s place so they could do some Unus Annus-related work. After turning off the alarm, Ethan ruffled a hand through his hair and headed down to the kitchen, hearing Spencer’s nails skittering across the tiled flooring in anticipation of his breakfast being served. Ethan grinned, kneeling down and embracing the dog as he bundled into his arms, licking at his face. 

“Oooh, such a good boy, Spence. Who wants some food?” he cooed in his baby-like Spencer voice, scrubbing his hands at his ears and down through his fur, making sure to scratch at all the places he knew were his favourite. After getting a soft woof in response, Ethan stood back up, then grabbed a bag of Spencer’s food from the cupboard, emptying some into his bowl. Since Ethan had trained him a bit, the dog was patient, sat back with one front paw off the floor as he watched - only moving to the bowl to eat when Ethan moved away and put the bag back into the cupboard.

“Enjoy!” he called over his shoulder as he headed upstairs to workout and shower. Once he’d gone through his whole morning routine, including getting in some work for his channel, it was about 1pm. His stomach rumbled as he sat back from his computer and pulled off his headphones - lunch was definitely next on the agenda, but why not kill two birds with one stone and grab some on the way over to Mark’s place? Could even get something for the man himself, since he was always so busy with his own channel, as well as various other side projects and also looking out for his friends and family. Ethan didn’t know how he kept up sometimes, and it made him feel a bit bad every now and then to think that he himself could get tired just from his own channel, let alone with how many other things Mark had on his plate. But that was something he was working on - not feeling guilty about his own emotions. Everyone had their boundaries and if he got tired, then that’s fine. Each to their own, he had to keep reminding himself.

And so, with this in mind, Ethan was on his way to Mark’s house, having given Spencer some attention before he left his apartment. He didn’t like him to be on his own too much, so he always made sure to give him lots of love whenever he could. Ethan decided he was hungry for a sub, so he grabbed a footlong, and picked up Mark’s favourite too - of course he knew his favourite, they’d been friends for years and had gotten food together more times than he could remember. When he came to think about it, Mark was probably one of his best friends for sure. And with good reason! He’d changed his life in more ways than one, and he was so much better for having him in his life. Their fans only saw a fraction of their friendship through the camera, and their videos were always edited too - they would never know the true depth of the love he had for Mark. For some reason, the thought of how much he cared for Mark had heat burning at his cheeks… Weird. That was becoming something of a regular occurence lately. It was almost like he felt embarrassed just thinking of his friend. But why? Sure, when he’d been nothing more than a fan of Markiplier, he could remember the butterflies in his stomach when he’d attend conventions just to get the chance to see him. But that was purely him being a fanboy, getting too overexcited at the thought of being in the same room as his idol. Right? He didn’t feel those things anymore, he and Mark were genuine friends and he didn’t exactly hold him in that same holier-than-thou regard anymore… did he? These thoughts were flying left, right and centre through his mind as he pulled up to Mark’s driveway. As he locked his car and walked up to his front door with their lunch in hand, he heard Chica’s barking from inside the house and he spotted her at the window, tail wagging frantically because she’d seen him. His worries dissipated even more when the door in front of him opened, and Mark stood to one side with a grin to let him in.

“Someone’s hungry,” his friend commented, having spotted the bag in Ethan’s hand which clearly had more than one meal’s worth in it. With a laugh, Ethan stepped into the house, toeing his shoes off onto the rack inside the door, and knelt down immediately to greet Chica whilst Mark closed the door and took the bag from him so that Chica wasn’t tempted to snatch it from Ethan.

“Har har,” came the sarcastic response to Mark’s words, rolling his eyes with a smile as he rubbed Chica’s ears, “If you look inside, you might actually find out that it’s not all for me, dumbass.”

He listened as Mark rummaged in the bag, and he grinned to himself when he heard a hum of appreciation from his friend when he sniffed out his favourite sub. When he finally managed to detach himself from Chica’s fluffy clutches, Ethan stood back up and turned to watch as Mark was already unwrapping the sandwich and taking a grateful bite. His eyes were closed as he chewed, savouring every bite and he let out a soft sigh through his nose. This definitely wasn’t a scene that should have had his heart pounding, stood in Mark’s front doorway, Chica thumping her tail at his feet and Mark with his mouthful of food, but his heart thumped anyway. And, just like in the car, his cheeks were heating up thinking about just how much he loved Mark and wanted to take care of him - which is why he’d bought him lunch, after all, knowing that sometimes he could go for hours and hours without eating purely because he forgot. That wasn’t everyday, but he had noticed it a few times before.

“...than? Eth? Buddy, you okay?”

With a blink, Ethan focused back on the real world and noticed that Mark had stopped eating, and was now staring at him with an amused look on his face.

“Huh?”  
“I said, you got a thing for watching me eat now?”

Ethan’s cheeks only burned hotter at Mark’s teasing, and he scoffed out of defensive reflex, nudging his elbow into his friend’s side.

“Oh yeah, papa bear, can’t get enough!”

His tone of voice took on that of his energetic on-camera self, and his tongue poked between his teeth as he snatched the bag back from Mark and practically skipped through to the dining table, seating himself like it was his house, not Mark’s. The older man shook his head with a smile and followed behind, sitting opposite him at the table and they allowed themself a lunch break before they got down to some serious recording time. Whilst Ethan was super grateful for the career he had, especially getting to work with Mark, he was even more so for the times he got like these - eating lunch with Mark, chatting about everything and nothing, all whilst both of them simultaneously pet Chica who tirelessly walked between their legs looking for attention. He wouldn’t give this up for anything, and he hoped that he got to hold onto these times for as long as he could. Which inevitably led to the small voice in the back of his head whispering that one day Mark might find his soulmate, and then there’d be less time for them to do these things. That thought didn’t sit well with him right, and it only just occurred to him now that Mark hadn’t met his soulmate yet - or if he had, he’d not told Ethan. But if Mark suddenly started to see in colour, surely it would have become obvious by now? Yeah, he was fairly sure that hadn’t happened. Yet. Swallowing down the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, Ethan looked up and forced on a smile.

“Shall we make a start? Unus Annus isn’t gonna make itself!”

And with that, they went on to record for a good while, and by the time they’d finished - with a lot of footage to keep them going if they had an emergency - it was getting late. Ethan stretched his arms above his head, rising up onto his tiptoes as he groaned with relief. Mark was just turning off the cameras and recording lighting, and glanced over at his friend with a smile.

“Tired?”

Ethan turned and automatically gave a shrug, about to give his usual answer that no, he never usually got that tired, when Mark shot him a knowing look. He knew Ethan too well. With a soft sigh, the younger boy’s shoulders dropped and he rubbed a hand over his face.

“A little. It’s okay though, I’ll get some sleep after I upload tonight. Make sure me and Spence get some dinner and then bed time!”

Mark watched him with a considering look on his face, wanting to check that Ethan was being honest when he said he would get the food and sleep that he needed. He hated the thought of Ethan not taking care of himself, and sometimes wished that he could force his friend to live there with him so he could forever watch over him and keep him fed and energised. But of course, you couldn’t just force your friend to live with you, no matter how much you thought it would be good for them. And how much it would be good for you too… Ethan wasn’t the only one who’d been doing some introspection lately, and taking note of just how much he loved his friend.

“Alright, well I expect you to text me when you go to sleep so I know, okay?”

“Sure, Dad, I’ll text you goodnight.”

Ethan shot Mark a cheeky grin and dashed out of the recording room before Mark could get any more words in, and he gave Chica a few cuddles when he saw her in the living room. He then proceeded to go and put his shoes on by the front door, knowing Mark would come find him before he left. After tying his laces, Ethan stood and saw Mark walking through the dining room towards him. He shrugged on his jacket and smiled genuinely, opening the front door and stepping out. Before he could make it much further though, Mark grabbed his arm and halted his steps.

“Hey, why’re you leaving in such a hurry, man? Where’s my hug?”

Ethan turned back towards the house and laughed, biting his bottom lip with an apologetic look on his face. Sometimes he was really bad at picking up on social cues, and didn’t always know if people were up for hugs, even his friends.

“Sorry, sorry. Just… I don’t know, you’re probably real tired too and I just wanted to let you have your alone time in peace… I guess?”

“I always want my Ethan hugs,” was all he heard before he was enveloped in warm arms and pulled into a firm chest. Mark’s words had Ethan feeling all melted and squishy inside, and he just hoped that he wouldn’t be able to pick up on the tension. With a sigh, however, he easily melted into Mark’s embrace, his own arms wrapping around his friend and laying his palms on his back. He enjoyed the feeling of Mark’s shoulder blades under his hands, and lightly scratched at the material of the hoodie he was wearing. His head rested on one of Mark’s shoulders as he closed his eyes and just let himself have this moment enjoying the comfort and security of hugging one of his best friends. 

“I’m real proud of you, Eth,” came a whisper in his ear, which had him tensing just a little, “You’ve come so far - I don’t mean just YouTube stuff, but… I like the you that’s here with me now. You make me proud every damn day.”

These words were so soft, almost like a whispered secret, and so unprompted - where had they come from? But really, that’s not what mattered most. Mark was proud of him. Proud of the person he was. Ethan had never wanted anything more than to have Mark be proud of him just for being him. And now, his face had never burned so hot, he was sure that Mark would be able to feel it through his hoodie. In fact, his entire body felt like it was cooking, and he was sure he must be getting sick. He didn’t want to make Mark sick too! Breaking away from the hug suddenly, Ethan opened his eyes and was about to apologise when his entire being came to a halt. Mark’s eyes, they were… a deep, rich brown. Almost black, but not quite. And his skin… so smooth, so… Hold on, weren’t people supposed to know the names of all the colours when they came to them? And that’s when it hit Ethan, like a kick to the gut - he could see colour.

Gulping in a deep breath, Ethan staggered back in shock whilst Mark looked at him in alarm, thinking he’d said something wrong. Everywhere Ethan looked, there was colour, he couldn’t escape it, couldn’t process them all. His vision was blurring with the combination of so many colours and shades that he’d never known before. And the pressing, deeper meaning behind this new change in his vision wasn’t helping either. It was all too much to comprehend at once.

“S-Sorry, Mark, gotta go, I don’t, er, don’t feel so good… I’ll text you later, kay?”

And with that, Ethan was in his car, trying so hard not to become overwhelmed with the revelation of what colour it was. He gave Mark a short wave before pulling out of his drive and heading home, leaving his friend standing on his front door step, confused and just a tiny bit hurt. When Ethan got back to his apartment he raced inside, trying to keep his head down so he didn’t have to look at too much, and slammed his front door shut behind him. Safe inside now, he slid to sit on the floor with his back against the door, and pressed his hands to his face, tears sliding down his cheeks. Couldn’t even bear to look up when Spencer came bounding over to see what’s wrong, for fear of the colours that would now dominate his sight.


	2. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm blown away by the love I've been getting to this so far, it honestly helps to encourage me so thanks each and every one of you! <3 Once again, hope you enjoy!

Ethan wasn’t sure what time it was when he woke, but all he knew was that his neck was aching from the position he’d fallen asleep in. He let out a grunt of mild pain, to which Spencer, who’d curled up at his feet, took as a sign of him waking up - his dog got up and wagged his tail, snuffling in to lick at his face. That earned a soft giggle from Ethan, and he realised that he’d fallen asleep sitting against his front door, legs pulled up to his chest and his arms crossed over his knees. Lifting his face, dread settled deep in the pit of his stomach at the realisation that last night hadn’t all been part of some wild dream. And when he opened his eyes to look at Spencer and scratch behind his ears, that realisation was only brought more to life as his gaze slid over his dog’s fur, seeing it in full colour for the first time in his life. From the dark brown all over his face, to the lighter fur under his chin, working down his chest to his belly, Ethan was astounded. Last night it had been all too much to take in at once, and his brain couldn’t process it all. Sliding forward, Ethan scratched at Spencer’s other ear too, earning the sight of his tongue lolling out of his mouth in enjoyment - Ethan took note of this too, that Spencer’s tongue was pink. It was a fun colour, he decided. And the dog’s fur definitely suited him and he was only the cuter for it.

“Sweet, sweet boy, Spence,” cooed Ethan as he pressed a kiss to his forehead, “Thanks for staying with me last night. Did daddy scare you? I’m sorry…”

With a sigh, he stood and stretched out all of the kinks that had worked into his body from sleeping in such an awkward position for however many hours. How had he even done that? He was a pretty good sleeper, but he was surprised that he’d managed it - the floor and the door were not comfy in the slightest. Speaking of, he turned to look at them both, taking note of the colours that the interior decorator had chosen for his apartment - a kind of beige colour for the laminate flooring, and the door was a deep mahogany. It was going to take some getting used to, being able to see these colours and instantly know the names of them. But that thought threw him off… last night, when he’d seen Mark in colour for the first time… he knew his eyes were a deep brown, but his skin - maybe it was just because he was taken aback at how good his skin looked, but he couldn’t have put a name to it at the time. It made him want to go back and see his friend, just so he could take the time to see him in colour properly and commit the new image of Mark to his mind. But that also drew him back to just what this new colour vision of his meant - he’d left Mark at a pretty awful time last night, and with barely any explanation. But he’d been so overwhelmed at the sudden rush of feelings that made his heart surge because of Mark telling him that he was proud of the man he’d become. It only seemed to amplify everything that he’d already felt for his friend, and had resulted in his heart realising that Mark Edward Fischbach was his soulmate - his heart had yet to let his brain in on that fact just yet, since everything had been such a blur since then. A soft yap from the dog still at his feet took Ethan out his reverie and he pinched the bridge of his nose - get it together, Nestor…

“Right, Spencer, I’m gonna fix you up with some well deserved breakfast and daddy has some... stuff to sort out,” he said through a sigh, before proceeding to give Spencer his food and then he headed upstairs for a shower. He was much slower doing everything than he usually would be - every mundane task that he’d done thousands of times before was no longer mundane now that he could see the colours of everything that he looked at, touched and used. But one thing made him take a long pause… When he got out of the shower, he was about to head past the mirror when he caught sight of his reflection and stopped himself. He took a long look at himself - so, his hair was brown, huh? It was quite a nice shade, and when the light hit, the colour seemed to lighten. He smiled at himself, and his gaze was drawn to his eyes - they were so vivid! They were kind of a mixture of blue and green? He stepped in closer to the mirror, mesmerised by all of the flecks of colour that appeared whenever he tilted his head. But then, he could’ve sworn there was brown in there too! And whilst he was at it, his gaze just took in the entirety of his face, noting that his skin was a fair bit paler than the flash of Mark’s skin he’d noticed the night before. Mark… Yeah, he definitely had to fix whatever he’d done last night, he was fairly certain that his hasty exit was unexpected from his friend, especially when he’d done nothing but be so kind and sincere to Ethan. He deserved an apology, at least. Once he’d dressed, brushed his teeth, and scoffed down a small bowl of cereal, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He’d not even looked at the thing since yesterday some time, having been so busy filming for Unus Annus and then… last night. Unlocking it, he pulled up Mark’s name and sent a brief text.

‘Hey, are you home?’

Once it was sent, he busied himself with tidying up the kitchen, taking note of everything in colour now and trying to commit everything to memory. Considering that someone else had sorted out his kitchen appliances for him before he’d even moved in here, they didn’t have bad taste with colour choices. He liked the soft blues and creams that were sporadically woven throughout the interior of his home. It was at least a good half hour before his phone chimed, alerting him to Mark’s response.

‘Yeah. But you have a key, might I remind you.’

Ethan felt a fraction of nerves lift from his chest at the reminder in Mark’s reply - if he was making note of Ethan’s possession of a key to his house, then it meant he didn’t mind him walking in without permission still. That was a good sign. Even if he was pissed at him a little, it wasn’t enough to warrant him not wanting Ethan to turn up at his place un-announced. That gave Ethan all the encouragement he needed to head over. Making sure Spencer was all good, had toys and snacks out, and didn’t need to pee, Ethan threw a goodbye over his shoulder and got into his car. He had to remind himself to breathe how his therapist had told him, since it did usually help his anxiety a bit in situations like this. In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8. Waiting until he felt his breathing regulate, Ethan then pulled out of his driveway and made the journey to Mark’s house. It took him a lot of self will not to stare at everything he drove past and see the houses, shops, trees and people in their colours. But something that he couldn’t resist - after parking behind Mark’s car in his drive - was tipping his head up so he could face the sky. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the bright blue that stretched across for as far as he could see - there weren’t any clouds overhead, so all was vibrant blue. The fact he’d missed out on these sights for all his life up until now had him feeling a little melancholy, but he also knew that now he would be able to spend the rest of his life admiring and appreciating it.

“Hey dumbass, you gonna stand there starin’ at the sky all day or d’you wanna come in?”

Ethan started in surprise at the familiar voice that called to him from the front door, and he turned to Mark leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. There was an unreadable expression on his face, but a faint smile was on his lips, so that was something of a reassurance to him. A small, uneasy smile passed across Ethan’s features as he began walking towards his friend, his gaze eagerly taking in Mark’s fully-coloured form. Now he could see that his skin was a lovely, tanned tone, complimenting his dark eyes and hair, as well as his sculpted muscles. He wanted to see what their skin looked like side by side, but how was he going to be able to do that and not give away that he could see colour now? In fact, hiding this from Mark was going to be extremely difficult, especially when they were filming together. He’d have to work extra hard to not let it slip by accident. It would only lead to awkward questions about who his soulmate was, and Ethan wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive that conversation with the man who had actually turned out to be his soulmate.

“Hey,” he said softly in greeting as Mark stepped aside to let him in. “Look, Mark, before I say anything else, I just wanna -”  
“Wait a sec.”

Halting in the midst of what was going to be a genuine apology, Ethan quirked an eyebrow in confusion at Mark’s interruption. But he said no more, instead watching his friend as he closed the door and led the way into the dining room, then through the house and upstairs. They ended up at the door to the recording room, and Ethan wondered whether Mark didn’t want to talk, just get down to work on Unus Annus. But when the older man turned to him with a smile, Ethan felt butterflies whir about in his stomach and even more relief settled in his chest.

“Close your eyes.”

It wasn’t a request, and so Ethan didn’t hesitate. With his eyes closed, he did subconsciously wonder whether Mark knew about the fact he could see colour now, and that’s why he wanted his eyes closed, but quickly dismissed that thought. There was no way that he could know, he’d never given any hint to it - Ethan was being paranoid, that’s all. He felt Mark’s hand close around his wrist and heard the sound of the recording room door open, and he was tugged forwards, ever so gently being led inside. After he’d taken a few steps inside, the door was closed behind them, and he couldn’t help but wonder just what it was that Mark had planned.

“Right, now I need you to get on your knees,” was the soft response to his left.

That was unexpected. Ethan knew that Mark definitely didn’t mean what his mind was thinking, but he couldn’t help the path that his mind had wandered down at those words. Swallowing to get some moisture back into his suddenly-dry mouth, and licking his lips, Ethan lowered himself down slowly, carefully. As he did so, Mark let go of his wrist. It was a little worrying, really, how much he trusted Mark - here he was, unable to see his surroundings and getting down on his knees at a few-worded request from his friend. Of course he could open his eyes at any moment but he didn’t want to ruin whatever it was that Mark had planned.

“This feels like some freaky Unus Annus thing that we haven’t discussed right now, Mark,” he chuckled weakly, head turning to his left where he knew Mark had previously been when he last spoke.

“Don’t worry,” came his soft, low voice, “You’re not in any danger, and you’ll be able to open your eyes soon.”

“I know you wouldn’t put me in any danger without my permission. It’s just, well, my mind is kinda going crazy thinking what could be happening. That’s all.”

Ethan expected a reply, perhaps some sort of clue as to what it was that was about to happen. But instead, there was silence except for some soft rustling just in front of him. Sounded like a kind of fabric. Again, his mind went straight to the gutter and he had mental images of Mark standing in front of him, dropping his trousers to the floor. Nope, no, NO. Not good thoughts to have. He would not let himself get hard in front of Mark, especially to the thought of the man himself. So many things were wrong with that.

“Now I need you to crawl forwards until I tell you to stop. I’ll guide you if you’re about to crash into anything, okay?”

Ethan could only nod, feeling super confused at the instructions being given to him - what the hell was happening? Was Mark filming him obeying his every command to humiliate him and then post it to Unus Annus? They definitely hadn’t spoken about any ideas even similar to this though, so his mind was reeling. And so, here he was, crawling across Mark’s recording room floor with his eyes closed, leaving all of his trust to the one and only Markiplier to not bump into anything or smack his face. After a few crawls forward, Ethan felt fabric brushing against his face, and then as he kept going, it brushed against the rest of his body. Eventually his hands began landing on what felt like pillows and cushions, and then his mind really did whir with confusion. What on earth had Mark done? When both his hands and knees were cushioned with fabrics and soft surfaces, he finally heard the words that he’d been waiting for.

“Okay, you can stop and open your eyes now.”

Waiting just a moment, Ethan’s eyes fluttered open and it took him a while to register what he’d crawled into. He glanced about, and spotted fairy lights which were blue and white. They were strung up amongst walls of blankets and towels, and that’s when it hit him. As he looked down at the floor which was a mass of cushions, pillows, and what might even have been one of Chica’s old dog beds, tears sprung to his eyes. This was a blanket fort. Mark had constructed a blanket fort in his recording room, had even hung up god damn fairy lights.

“I’d also appreciate it if you could get your ass out of my face so I can join you in there, buddy,” came an amused call from the entrance to the fort.

Ethan gasped, realising that this wasn’t exactly the largest space in the world, and so he shuffled forwards and out of the way, trying hard not to trample on what he now spotted were snacks and drinks scattered about amongst the pillows. He was having a hard time processing that Mark had done all of this for him. Why? And how? When did he have the time? He was so busy! Finally he flumped himself further into the middle of the fort, and he took the time to look around at the fairy lights again - the blue and white colours really did well to highlight the cosy space, and they were so cute! Especially now that he didn’t see them as just lighter than the darkness. He was starting to think that blue may be one of his favourite colours - but he supposed that there would be other shades he hadn’t experienced yet, so he should wait a while before making such a big judgement. Once Mark had gotten comfy and pulled across the blanket that made up the entrance to the fort, Ethan shot him a warm smile.

“You did all of this for… me.”  
“Well duh, you don’t see anyone else sitting here with us, do ya?”

It was a tease, and Ethan was grateful for it. But there was still a guilt sitting in the pit of his stomach that he’d left Mark in such a strange situation last night. He needed to at least apologise.

“But Mark… I really am sorry. For last night. I don’t know what happened, I just couldn’t…”  
“Eth, you don’t have to apologise… I know what happened. I get it.”

This time Ethan froze, his heart picking up its pace at the thought that Mark knew his secret and didn’t even want him to apologise for it. How did he know? Had he given himself away? Said something out loud without realising? He tended to do that every so often when his mind was otherwise preoccupied.

“...you do?  
“Of course. You’ve been so busy lately and it must be a lot for you to deal with. I knew when you left last night that I’d probably overwhelmed you. Even though I meant what I said, I’m sorry that it made you so… I guess you got pretty anxious huh?”

Ethan let out a deep breath and felt his shoulders drop with relief - although a small part of him had wished that Mark knew his secret just so that he could get it over with and see what his reaction was - Mark had just assumed that things were getting on top of him and he had one of his moments where the anxiety stopped him from functioning like a normal person. It wasn’t exactly a lie… all of the events from the night before had made him pretty anxious, but it wasn’t due to the reasons that Mark assumed.

“And so,” his friend continued, “I knew just what to do. I set this place up because I know you mentioned the other day that you hadn’t made a fort in years. We can both take the day off - no filming, not even any mention of Unus Annus or CrankGameplays, how does that sound? Just us, this blanket fort, snacks, and probably Chica at some point when she starts scratching at the door because she knows we’re in here. What d’you say?”

Ethan couldn’t fight the smile that lit up his face, and he surged forward, pulling Mark into a fierce hug - what had he ever done to deserve having him in his life, let alone him being the perfect friend? Inside, his heart did ache more than a little - if only he was Mark’s soulmate in return, everything could be perfect. And yet, he had no choice. He couldn’t change the way things were, and he would take anything he could get. If he always had Mark as the best friend he could ask for, so be it. So long as he could always have him around, he’d have to take that.

“You’re the best,” came his whispered reply, which felt like a pretty lame response considering Mark’s heartfelt words last night, “I’m sorry, you know I’m bad with words…”  
“Hush, Eth. You don’t have to say a thing. I know it’s hard for you, but I think you show everything pretty well anyway.”

Ethan really was grateful that Mark understood him and could read him so well - it made his life a hell of a lot easier and it was how he knew that Mark cared for him so much. Again, his heart squeezed in regret that he wasn’t his soulmate, but he pushed that thought away. He wasn’t going to spoil this moment for them by ruining his mood. With a bright smile on his face, Ethan pulled back from the hug, but was stopped before he could properly let go, and Mark leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his forehead. Eyes widening, Ethan felt his cheeks warm significantly and his heart picked up speed at the tenderness of that one small action. He licked his lips and searched Mark’s face, and saw Mark watching him back. The moment was drawing on and on, and Ethan internally squirmed - if one of them made the move, their whole lives would shift. And that thought had him shying away. With a hum of thought, he turned and grabbed the nearest snack on the floor, turning the bag over to inspect it.

“Good choice in snacks so far, Markimoo, I approve,” he shot at his friend with a grin, tongue peeking out between his teeth.

There was a strange look on Mark’s face for a split second before he smiled, rolling his eyes.

“Well, thanks so much for your approval, Your Majesty. I aim to please.”

Mark gave a low bow, and that caused a fit of giggles to burst from Ethan, and he fell back on the cushions, holding a hand on his stomach. Once his laughter had settled down, he lifted himself up onto his elbows and watched as Mark set up an iPad propped up by a book at their feet.

“What’s this? Mark, are you trying to ask if I wanna hang out for Netflix and chill?”  
“Dude, as if I’d even have to ask. I’ve got you right in the palm of my hand if I ever want that.”

Ethan’s cheeks burned again, and he clamped his mouth shut - anything he said following that would just get him in an even digger hole so he kept quiet.

“Thought so,” Mark said with a grin, and he loaded up some YouTube videos for them to have on in the background whilst they ate their snacks and talked. Ethan settled down happily, enjoying the closeness with Mark and the intimacy of just them in this blanket fort. Despite talking for a while, it was inevitable that the two of them would start to drift off. Mark had done a good job with all the pillows and cushions, so it was super cosy, and not a surprise that they were easily lulled to sleep. They were woken about an hour or so later by scratching at the door, and Mark only moved out of the fort this once to let Chica in, and she laid at the entrance to the fort, tail wagging as she enjoyed their company. After that, they ended up falling asleep once more, the outside world forgotten for the day as the two men got the rest and comfort that they both needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, just a warning, in future chapters the rating may go up, but I will add relevant tags and I'll probably make it so that if you don't wanna read smut, you can just skip to the next chapter. Or maybe I'll make a oneshot which goes into more detail. We'll see! Lemme know what you think about that if you're enjoying this so far and you do/don't wanna read any smut. Much love!


	3. Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I’d spice things up a bit and change the POV with this chapter. Again, I am so blown away by all the love I’ve received on this. <3 Hope you all enjoy!

Throughout the night, he and Ethan had woken up, talked, snacked and fallen back to sleep multiple times until finally it seemed they were out for the count - until his phone alarm went off at 6am. Strict daily schedule and all that. With a grunt, Mark lifted his head and noted that his left arm was stretched out along the pillows and cushions, and Ethan was laid on it, his body curled into his side. The younger man’s nose was tucked into Mark’s shoulder and he’d be damned if he didn’t think the sight before him was the single most precious thing he’d ever experienced in his life - even if his left arm was currently experiencing a loss of feeling, like he had a dead weight for a limb. However, Ethan was roused by his alarm too, and he cringed in annoyance at himself, having forgotten to warn his friend that it would be going off at the normal time in the morning. He watched as Ethan’s eyes wearily blinked open and his brain seemed to take a few moments to wake up, as his gaze swivelled around his surroundings before it settled on Mark’s face. Offering a smile, Mark reached his right hand over to ruffle Ethan’s hair, partly to apologise for the early wake up call, partly to annoy him since he liked to be the only one in control of his hair.

“Mornin’ sleepy head.”

Apparently though, his friend was still too sleepy to notice and just let out a hum, stretching his legs out.

“Mmm-hey,” was his mumbled response, lifting a hand to rub the sleep dust from his eyes, “It’s waaaay too early…”

“Sorry, Eth, I shoulda warned you.”

With a small smile, Ethan sat himself up, blinking a few times as his brain, still in between the sleeping and waking world, took in that he had been laying on Mark’s arm. His eyes widened and he shuffled around to face him as Mark sat up too.

“Dude, you shoulda told me to move! Your arm must be so dead right now, I’m sorry…”

“Honestly, it’s not that bad,” Mark reassured, giving a chuckle as he rolled his left shoulder, the feeling easily making its way back into his arm, “Besides, I wasn’t gonna wake you when you obviously needed the sleep… and also, you looked so cute I couldn’t disturb you.”

He watched with an amused smirk as Ethan instantly spluttered and searched his brain for a comeback, only to sigh and press his hands to his face.

“Asshole,” was his half-hearted reply, to which Mark burst out laughing, throwing his head back, and Ethan lowered his hands to glare at him for being such a smart ass.

Once he’d managed to catch his breath, Mark wiped away a stray tear and grinned at Ethan, “Really though, you looked super comfy and like you needed it. A dead arm is but a small price to pay in return for a dear friend’s rest and happiness.”

He did a half bow, before beginning to crawl towards the entrance to the fort. Whilst his back was turned, he was unable to see the stunned look on Ethan’s face, and the way his gaze travelled the entirety of his form. When he was just outside the entrance, Mark turned and crouched on the balls of his feet to peer at Ethan inside.

“You’re welcome to grab some breakfast whilst I go shower. Then maybe we can take Chica to your place and we can walk her and Spencer together? We can work on Unus Annus from your apartment.”

Ethan seemed to consider the idea for a moment before he nodded with a bright smile, “Sounds good! I can make us dinner too.”

He must have caught the pretend-scared look on Mark’s face because he huffed petulantly and crossed his arms over his chest, “Or I can make dinner for myself and you can starve.”

“No no, dinner courtesy of Chef Nestor sounds great,” he grinned back at his friend, before standing and making his way out of the recording room, calling over his shoulder teasingly, “I like taking risks, after all.”

As he was walking out of the door, he heard the muttered “smart ass” from the midst of the blanket fort that Ethan had obviously thought he wouldn’t hear, and he couldn’t help but grin to himself even more. He loved teasing his friend because he was so easy to wind up, and besides, sometimes Ethan would scrunch his nose up in annoyance and it was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen. When he hopped into the shower, the hot water was a relief for his aching muscles. Even though he’d loved the time he and Ethan had spent in the fort, it hadn’t done his body any favours with how much he’d had to crouch, crawl and contort just to fit inside it. Seeing Ethan’s reaction was totally worth it though - just knowing how grateful his friend was for what was, in Mark’s mind, such a small thing made his heart warm. As he washed his hair, he thought about the times he’d been able to make Ethan smile recently. He liked every single one of those moments, and he wanted to spend his whole life making him happy. There was only one thing that stood in the way of that prospect though - Ethan was likely to find his soulmate one day and then he’d have to share him with whoever that person turned out to be. He didn’t like that thought one little bit. 

In Mark’s view of life, he didn’t believe he had a soulmate, and with good reason. Without bragging, he had had a lot of success in his career, especially recently, and had met thousands of people throughout his life. Of all people, he should have met his soulmate by now. And yet, here he was still unable to see colour. So he’d come to terms with that, in fact he wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest. It’s not like he couldn’t be happy without a soulmate - in fact, he had never been happier. And sure, his career had a lot to do with that, but his career had also produced another major factor of his happiness in the form of Ethan Nestor. Looking back on when they’d first met, with the power of forethought, Mark was surprised that he hadn’t been bestowed colour vision upon first meeting Backflip Guy - if anyone was to be his soulmate, Ethan would have been at the top of his list. He was funny, sweet, kind, compassionate, and just about everything that Mark wanted. Plus, it helped that he was cute, and it took every inch of willpower in Mark to restrain himself from tearing apart that cuteness in his bed anytime that Ethan slept over. Obviously, though, the universe didn’t agree with him. Well, he thought, screw the universe. If he wanted Ethan Nestor, he was damn well going to have him, in whatever way the man would allow. And boy, had he been trying lately. There was even a moment yesterday when he’d thought that finally Ethan was getting the hint - after he’d kissed him on the forehead, they’d stared at each other for longer than usual and Mark was so certain that was going to be the moment when everything changed. But instead Ethan had turned away, and Mark’s brain had been hurtling itself at the inside of his skull with frustration trying to find a way to just make Ethan realise what he wanted without expressly telling him so. It made Mark tired just thinking about it.

Now his hair was washed, it only took a couple minutes to give the same treatment to his body, and then the shower was off, he was out, and in a towel. Steam poured out of the bathroom when he opened the door and as he walked to his bedroom he listened out for the sounds of Ethan talking to Chica downstairs. If he kept being this adorable for the rest of their lives, Mark was sure that he was going to explode - trying to keep everything inside was too dangerous and he was afraid that it’d all come bursting out without his permission one day. Once he was dried and dressed, as well as his hair somewhat behaving when he combed it out, Mark headed downstairs to see Ethan was standing at the sliding doors to his patio. He held back for a moment since his friend hadn’t heard his approach, and watched as Ethan stared out at the back yard. His eyes seemed to be scanning the area as if he’d never seen it before, and Mark tipped his head to one side in consideration - maybe he was just deep in thought. Ethan’s mind worked in different ways to his sometimes, but that’s one of the many things he liked about him. They were opposites in some ways, but came together in others. Either way, they had great chemistry both on and off camera, and he loved every moment he spent with him.

“Eth? Ready to head off?”

Mark watched as Ethan turned to him as if he’d been caught doing something bad, and ran a hand through his hair - one of his nervous habits, he’d learned through the years of their friendship. He offered a smile to try and dissolve any anxiety Ethan may have just experienced (the source Mark wasn’t sure of), and watched him smile in return.

“Sure, let’s go!”

And with that, they were both in their own cars heading to Ethan’s apartment - it hadn’t been hard encouraging Chica to hop in his car, especially when she saw Ethan was going to be coming with them wherever they were going. He could swear sometimes that she liked Ethan more than she liked him. But he couldn’t blame her really, he was a sucker for that boy too. When they arrived, Ethan went straight in to grab Spencer and once he saw his leash he was more than happy to come out for a walk. Mark clipped Chica’s leash onto her collar and when Ethan emerged from his front door, Spencer in tow, the two dogs spotted each other and their tails immediately began wagging at the realisation that they’d be going walking together. As Ethan and Spencer descended the stairs, Chica barked in her excitement, tongue lolling as she eagerly awaited the chance to greet Spencer - Mark watched with a wry smile, thinking to himself that if he too were a dog he’d be acting the same way towards Ethan. But of course, he had enough dignity to not stare at him with his tongue hanging out. Just.

“Let’s go, doggos!” Ethan called out, a grin on his face as they began walking along the pavement. There was a dog-friendly park nearby that they’d visited a few times, and so they mutually decided they’d go there. When they arrived, there were a few people milling about, some with dogs, others just enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. Finding themselves a spot which gave them some distance between them and other people, they finally let Chica and Spencer off their leashes and watched them take off after each other. For a while he and Ethan were just content to stand there and watch them play, and there were grins on both their faces. They stayed at the park for a half hour or so, neither of them truly kept watch of the time - even though Mark’s management would for sure tell him that they should - before heading back to the apartment. Once they’d settled the dogs down, he and Ethan headed up to the recording room. Things went as well as they usually would, with them both tossing banter back and forth which was sure to go down well when the footage was edited and uploaded to Unus Annus.

It was getting close to around 5pm when they were satisfied that they’d recorded a decent amount, and got some good work done, when Ethan piped up as he shut down his computer, “Okay, dinner time! Any requests or would you like to select the Chef’s Special?”

Mark smirked as he watched Ethan turn with a flourish, miming as if he was twirling an invisible moustache above his upper lip - so fucking cute, he just wanted to smooch that stupid grin off his face. But instead, he put his index finger to his lips and raised his eyes to the ceiling in thought.

“I think I’d like to try the Chef’s Special tonight. I’ve heard interesting things about his methods and I’d like to sample some of Chef Nestor’s… exquisite dishes.”

Internally he cringed - that definitely wasn’t one of his strongest lines, but it seemed to hit the mark because Ethan bit his lip, for a moment looking uncertain of himself, before he slowly moved a few steps closer. Mark felt hope ignite in the pit of his stomach as Ethan leaned in close, but he also then felt that hope dissolve as Ethan lifted a hand in a stage whisper signal, like they were sharing a secret from an invisible audience.

“Maybe I’ll even let you have a taste of my world famous… desserts afterwards.”

With an overly-dramatic wink, Ethan grinned before he turned and flounced out of the recording room. He called over his shoulder, “You comin’ or what?”

“After you? Always,” Mark muttered resolutely to himself, making sure his tone was low enough for Ethan not to hear. He was going to have to do something soon because there was only so much more of this tension that he could bear. Surely there was no way that Ethan couldn’t feel it? It was almost as if it was making its way into the very air around them… Not wanting to keep his friend waiting, Mark headed out to follow him downstairs to the kitchen. He settled at the breakfast bar, watching as his friend was already in his element pulling out ingredients from his fridge and cupboards. A smile pulled at his lips at the thought of Ethan cooking dinner for him - making someone a meal, to Mark, was one of the most kind and caring things someone could do. It was for sure one of the best ways to his heart, not that Ethan needed to do much else than he already had to be well on the way there. That thought paused Mark’s brain in its tracks - did he really think he was falling in love? Sure, he knew for definite that he was attracted to Ethan and he was perhaps the most important person in his life… Shit, was that love? He was pulled from that mental rabbit hole by the man in question himself staring at him as if he was waiting for an answer.

“Hmm?”  
“I saaaiiid do you wanna put on the radio or something? You don’t have to sit here with me if you’re bored.”  
“Oh. Nah, I’m good. Besides, it’s not every day you get to watch a hot chef working in the kitchen to make you dinner.”

He grinned innocently at his own comment which had Ethan shaking his head as he began chopping up some vegetables, “And we wonder why Crankiplier is a thing…”

Mark, his grin falling into more of a relaxed smile, inwardly thought to himself ‘some of us are wondering why it isn’t a thing.’ They stayed like that as Ethan cooked, chatting over the sounds of the food in the pans. Once the chef was done with his masterpiece, he shooed Mark over to the dining table whilst he plated it up and poured them both out a glass of water. After clearing his throat, Ethan brought the food and glasses over to the table and Mark waited for him to be sat at his side before lifting his glass in a toast. His friend quirked an eyebrow in curiosity but lifted his glass too, listening for Mark’s suggestion of what to toast.

“Memento mori.”

Ethan snorted, dipping his head as he grinned before lifting it again to hold Mark’s gaze, “Memento mori!”

With that, they clinked their glasses of water together and then took a sip. They then set their glasses down and Mark picked up his cutlery, looking at the meal hungrily in front of him. He could tell just from the smell alone that Ethan had done a good job, but he was eager to actually taste it.

“So tell me, Chef, what have I got on my plate here?”  
“Um, it’s n-not much, so don’t get your hopes up... I cooked some chicken in the pan with broccoli and cauliflower rice and some zucchini, and there’s spices in there too. Then I added some cooking cream and parmesan, and all of that is mixed together on top of some fettuccine pasta. I really hope you like it, Mark. If you don’t, I’ll just - ”  
“Hey, Eth? I’m sure it’s delicious. Let me give it a try, kay?”

With a nod, his friend watched, clearly nervous, as Mark cut up some of the chicken, and piled up his fork and spoon with as much of all the different foods he could. Just Ethan naming all of the ingredients together had sounded mouth-watering, and so he was more than certain that the meal would be good. As he took the first bite, Mark let the flavours melt together in his mouth and his eyes fluttered closed. Ooh, that was good. Better than he’d even been expecting, and his expectations had been high. He couldn’t help but let slip a moan of enjoyment as the food slid down his throat as he swallowed, and his eyes opened once again. The sight before him had him sitting forward in alarm though - Ethan had tears in his eyes as he was watching him.

“Ethan? Hey, bud, what’s wrong?”

He set down his cutlery and pulled out his chair to swivel around to face him properly, and his friend hastily wiped at his eyes with a laugh.

“It’s nothin’, I’m just… being an idiot. Ignore me!”  
“Dude, this is clearly not nothin’. You’re in tears… you know you can talk to me.”

Ethan gave a weak, watery smile as his hands wrung together in his lap, “It’s really stupid, honestly, I’m just… happy that you like the food. You have no idea how nervous I was making it. I just wanted to do something nice for you since you’re always doing stuff for me. You deserve nice things, Mark. I’m just relieved that I could do this right because you deserve, well… all the nice things in the world.”

Mark’s brain, for once, stumbled around inside his mind, tripping over itself at the blatant vulnerability Ethan was displaying and just how heartfelt and loving his words were. He was saying everything that Mark wanted him to say and it was making him short-circuit. For once, he didn’t have a smart ass reply. In fact, as he kept staring at his friend, he felt his body begin to heat up from his toes upwards. It was mildly alarming - not painful, just a weird sensation, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the warm gaze in Ethan’s eyes, even as he broke eye contact to look down at his hands. Apparently he was unfazed that Mark wasn’t speaking, and he carried on with some sort of conversation that Mark wasn’t hearing - his voice was like a blur in the back of his mind as the heat working its way through his body reached his head. As it did so, his eyes fluttered open and closed since the warmth blossoming behind them was more than a little strange, and each time his eyes blinked open, the world seemed to become more and more saturated with… colour. No, he couldn’t be thinking straight. His mind must be imagining it. He hadn’t just met Ethan, this was impossible… Why hadn’t this happened the first day they’d met? He lifted his hands to rub his eyes and blinked them a few more times, but everytime he looked back at Ethan, his friend’s hair was brown, his skin was a soft, pale tone, and his hoodie was pastel pink. Oh shit… he could see colour. And it was because of Ethan fucking Nestor, just like his instincts had told him it would be.

“Dude, you’ve gone all freaky on me… Mark? Can you hear me?”

With another blink, Mark zoned back into the real world and he noticed that Ethan had stopped talking and was staring at him in concern. How was he supposed to have a normal conversation with him now that he knew he was most definitely his soulmate? Inhaling deeply, Mark cleared his throat before he nodded slowly.

“Yeah, man, I’m fine, just… I came over all funny. Think I’m just a little tired, you know?” he laughed weakly, “As hard as that is to believe considering how much we slept last night.”

Ethan only looked more concerned and he leaned forward to press the back of his hand to Mark’s forehead, “You do feel a little warm… maybe you should get some more sleep… d’you want me to drive you and Chica home? I can get an uber back?”

Mark shook his head, giving a little smile despite his brain going into overdrive thinking of what he was supposed to do with the situation he had now been placed in, “Nah, honestly, it’s fine. I’m gonna take my time enjoying this, and then I’ll get me and Chica home.” At the sight of Ethan’s protesting face, he chuckled, “And then I’ll sleep plenty. Okay? I’ll even text you goodnight.” He deliberately echoed Ethan’s words from the night before last, when he himself had requested that he be told when his friend was going to bed because he’d been worried for him.

Ethan considered that for a moment before he seemed content and nodded, sitting back, “Okay, deal. But if you don’t send me a text I’m gonna be coming back there to make sure you’re all tucked up and cosy in bed.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Mark responded with a grin, wishing he didn’t have to worry so much about reassuring Ethan because he just wanted to spend all the time in the world staring at him and admiring him in his new full colour form. Though, as they continued eating, it wasn’t so hard to do just that. They settled into a comfortable silence, only muttering a few words every now and then, and it allowed Mark to take in the breathtaking view of Ethan with his new vision - he’d been cute before, but now with the addition of colour, Mark couldn’t stop looking at him. His eyes were the most fascinating thing he undoubtedly would experience in his life - they were some sort of mixture of blue, green and brown. And the shade shifted whenever Ethan would turn his head this way and that. As he kept looking, the name for the colour popped into his head - hazel. With this turn of events, Mark had barely paid attention to any of their surroundings since he’d been so focused on Ethan. He made as if to do the washing up once they’d finished eating, heading over to the sink, and was hit with new colours from all angles. It was a lot to take in, but he managed not to lose his head over it. However, Ethan tackled him from behind before he actually reached the sink, moving to bar the way by stretching both arms out across the counter and he looked up at Mark with a grin, tongue between his teeth.

“Time for Papa Bear to go home and get some rest.”

Mark’s eyes drifted down to that darn tongue poking out between Ethan’s teeth and he felt his stomach plummet. He had to do something about this, and soon. Taking a step closer, Mark peered down at his friend, and laid his hands on the edges of the sink behind him, caging his body with his arms.

“Is that so? I didn’t realise Goldie Locks got to order Papa Bear around. In fact, I think Papa Bear would quite like Goldie Locks for dessert…”

He watched, pleased, as a delightful pink colour appeared in Ethan’s cheeks as he stared somewhat defiantly at Mark, and tried not to falter in his barricade at the kitchen sink.

“Well Goldie Locks thinks that Papa Bear would feel a lot better if he went home to get some sleep… Goldie Locks only wants what’s best for Papa Bear.”

Heaving a deflated sigh, Mark dropped his head, then moved in closer to press his forehead against Ethan’s, “Spoilsport… Guess I’d better round up Chica and get her home.”

He felt Ethan’s breath hit his neck from their current positions and goosebumps rose to the surface of his skin - what was it going to take for him to get the hint? How many lines was he going to have to deliver before Ethan realised he was being serious? As he pulled away and gave his friend some space, the thought occurred to him that maybe he just thought Mark was naturally flirty with everyone. Maybe he believed it was like his default mode and couldn’t resist cheesy pickup lines in every conversation. No…. They’d been friends for years, he must have realised that he spoke to everyone else differently than how he spoke to Ethan. Perhaps he just wasn’t interested - that was an option that Mark didn’t like to linger on, but was just as viable as all the other options. Maybe Ethan just wasn’t into him…. sure, he thought he’d been getting signals back but he could also be reading them horribly. There was only one way to find out, he supposed. But that wasn’t going to be today. No, he’d tell Ethan how he felt when the time was right. It would be soon, but not today…

After herding Chica out the door, much to her and Spencer’s dismay, Mark got her into his car. Ethan had come down to wave them off, and before he got into the car too, Mark pulled him into a tight hug, “Thanks for today. I really needed it. And the food was amazing, Eth. Really. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

With that, he got into his car, and Ethan grinned, waving at him and Chica through the window, “See you tomorrow. Remember your goodnight text!”

“Don’t you worry, I won’t. Adios!” Mark called before pulling out of the drive, beeping his car horn as he made his way down the road and Ethan disappeared from his rear view mirrors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do we want more from Mark’s POV? I kinda like writing him, he’s more challenging but I enjoy it!


	4. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy so I gave myself a day off from writing because I was getting major headaches. But here I am again! This chapter kinda had a mind of its own sooo hope you all enjoy! And once again, thanks to each and every one of you that have left kudos and comments, etc! You’re all so lovely! <3  
> Lastly, just a reminder that I 100% respect the boys in their relationships so pls do not mention this fic or crankiplier to them! This is just for us to have some fun in a made up world! Much love <3

Ethan had a new favourite way to wake in the morning - it was only the day after he and Mark had woken up together in the blanket fort, but having him there at his side during the night and then when he first opened his eyes in the morning had been an experience that he was never going to forget. Mark was the first thing he’d seen upon waking and he wanted that to be a recurring thing for the rest of his life. Especially since he’d been able to admire the lovely deep brown and black tones of his hair, and the way his eyes were a little darker in the morning than they were later in the day. Geez, these kinds of thoughts were a little terrifying… but he supposed they were only going to get worse, considering that he was pretty much aware of his feelings now. As he’d laid in bed this morning, noticeably alone, he’d done quite a lot of soul searching. In fact, he didn’t think he’d done quite so much internal thinking in his life! He’d thought back to the moment, only a few days before, that he’d had his whole life turned upside down. His vision had bloomed with colour, coupled with the revelation that Mark was his soulmate. Which just messed with his head all the more - you were supposed to have that moment happen when you first met your soulmate, and he’d met Mark for the first time years ago. So, what was the deal? And that’s when he’d pulled out his phone and done some of his own research into the matter - surely there was some answer to this. Or was he just the odd one out of the entire universe? Seemed pretty likely, considering the way luck had treated him his whole life… But no! He’d felt a little pang of hope in his chest when a few articles popped up in his scour of the internet. Apparently, through reasons yet unknown, there were people who were exceptions to the rule when it came to soulmates. Just like some people’s soulmates didn’t return the bond, there were also people that were becoming known as “late bloomers”. According to surveys conducted by scientists across the world, there were cases of very small minorities of people not experiencing the soulmate-colour vision phenomena until some time had passed after meeting their soulmate. There wasn’t necessarily a lot of evidence-based research on this yet, but speculation based on the survey results was that it was perhaps due to a range of factors including chemical makeup of the brain - i.e. mental health disorders could significantly impact the ability to experience the soulmate-colour vision phenomena.

Feeling like his brain was spinning with so much new information, Ethan had gotten up and on with his usual morning routine since he’d needed some sense of normality after a mind-opening wake up call. Having a work out had helped to clear his mind a lot, although the shower afterwards had kind of reversed that. Unbidden, thoughts of Mark had passed through his mind as he washed soap suds off his body - yesterday had felt like a dream, especially with Mark constantly throwing cheesy pick up lines at him from every angle. He supposed that his friend was just trying to cheer him up with some flirty banter, which they were prone to do every now and then. Hey, they were two single guys who were great friends and spent a hell of a lot of time together. It was bound to come about every now and then, especially when they got on so well. Thinking back to the night before, when Mark had forced him back against the kitchen sink, Ethan’s heart raced - if the situation had been different, things might have escalated. And yet, Ethan’s heart tugged at the bittersweet thoughts that brought about - if only Mark could know he was Ethan’s soulmate whilst being banned from reacting badly… No, Ethan. That kind of thinking was not going to be allowed today. He was going to be productive, and Mark was not going to be on his mind at all. They both needed a break from each other - or, more likely, Ethan needed a break from Mark. If he was going to continue being such a close friend with his soulmate whilst his soulmate didn’t reciprocate the feelings, he’d have to try and train himself to be able to act like normal around him. And so, he needed a Mark-free day every now and then. He’d only just decided this, though, so it might take a while to truly enforce it.

Luckily, his first Mark-free day was going to be easier than he thought, since they didn’t need to film anything for Unus Annus today - they’d filmed a lot in the past few days, so they were ahead of schedule for once. Now, he could just concentrate on himself and Spencer, maybe even have a good look around his apartment since he could see it in colour. He could always go shopping for some new art to hang up, or stuff to decorate with. That was always exciting! Well, it was now that he could do it all himself without having to ask someone else for their opinion, or even to just do the job for him since there hadn’t been any point making the decisions when he couldn’t appreciate the colour choices. One thing that kept coming to the forefront of this mind, though, was that he should play a game now that he could see them in colour - surely that was going to be a real, excuse the pun, gamechanger! Nodding to himself as if agreeing that that was the best decision he’d made in a long time, Ethan headed to his recording room and sat at his computer. He pulled on his headphones and then loaded up Steam, setting about finding himself a new horror game. Luckily he managed to find one which was full of neon colours according to the screenshots on the preview page! He was sat waiting for the game to download, scrolling through reddit as he did so, when his phone on the desk beside him lit up with Mark’s face and began ringing. With a sigh, Ethan let it ring off - if it was anything important, he’d call back. Relief flooded through him when his phone went silent and flashed up with the missed call - of course Mark himself was going to be the one that tempted him away from his self imposed Mark-free day. Typical. Finally the game had downloaded and so he clicked the icon to load it up, grinning to himself at the neon colours that flooded his screen when the game menu loaded. This was so cool and he was super excited. He’d barely pressed play when his phone lit up again, ringing to signal that Mark was once again trying to contact him. Ethan face-palmed before pausing the game and taking off his headphones so he could answer the call.

“Hey dude, what’s up?”

“Hey Eth! Are you busy?”

Ethan glanced at the game sitting ready to play on his computer, chewing his bottom lip as he thought on what would be the most truthful answer - he wasn’t necessarily so busy that he couldn’t put it on hold, since it wasn’t something he needed to do. But having his Mark-free day was important…

“Er, not really? Why, what’s going on?”

“Oh, are you sure? I was just gonna ask if you wanted to play Five Nights At Freddy’s. I’ve been missing the game lately and was gonna kill two birds with one stone and record it for a video. Thought it’d be fun doing multiplayer, you know?”

Whilst Ethan sometimes struggled with saying no to people, he was fully prepared in this situation to turn Mark down - he had no obligation to say yes, after all. And Mark would totally get that, no questions asked. However, there was something in Mark’s voice when he asked about them playing a game together that tugged on his heartstrings… 

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so? One sec, I’ll get all set up.”

“Great! I’ll get everything ready on my end, talk soon.”

Despite the disappointment in himself for not being able to go a full day without Mark being on his radar somehow, there was a smile on his face at how happy and relieved Mark had sounded when he agreed to play with him. Hoo boy, he really was a goner… Within no more than ten minutes they were all set up and ready to go - he wasn’t going to record this himself, but he would be featuring on Mark’s channel in this video. He was in the same position as Mark, in all honesty - he hadn’t played FNaF in quite some time and it was definitely a fun horror game to play, even in multiplayer mode. So hopefully the game would distract him from actually paying too much attention to Mark and messing with his head even more.

“Alrighty, you ready Eth?”  
“Yep! All good to go.”  
“Awesome,” the sound of Mark clearing his throat between his words and Ethan could visualise the switch in his form from off-camera Mark to on-camera Mark, “Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier and welcome back to Five Nights at Freddy’s. Today we’re gonna be delving back into the creepy world of Freddy Fazbear in multiplayer mode. And joining us this time we have Ethan!”  
“Yo what up!”

There was a snort from Mark in amusement at that greeting but he continued on regardless. Ethan stuck his tongue out at the camera where he knew no one but Mark would be able to see him - his participation in the video would be by voice only. Too many camera shots of participants would cut out too much of the gameplay, after all. Mark smirked to himself at Ethan’s response before he carried on addressing the camera.

“Now, since we’re playing multiplayer, Ethan, we’re gonna have to co-operate the best we can and make sure we communicate with each other. Right?”  
Ethan rolled his eyes at Mark through the camera before laughing, “Yup! So I’m gonna keep quiet if I spot any of them coming at us.” 

He poked his tongue out between his teeth when he heard Mark’s groan of frustration, “Dude, I swear if you get us killed I’m kicking you out of Unus Annus.”  
“Ooooh, that sounds like a threat, Markimoo!”  
“It’s a promise.”

With those words, Mark’s tone of voice had dropped lower and it sent a shiver coursing through Ethan’s entire body. He let out a slow breath, then swallowed, trying out a laugh which came out a little higher pitched than normal. Mark seemed to notice because he sent a questioning look at Ethan, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. That look lasted for a couple of seconds but to Ethan it felt like at least an hour had passed - Mark’s gaze was like a heat laser passing over him and making him squirm on the inside. Well, this was going to be a mighty long let’s play...

“Anyway! Let’s start the game and see how well of a team we make, shall we?” A warning glance was sent into the camera obviously meant for him. He grinned even more, loving teasing Mark and being teased in return.  
“We’ll be the best team!”

And he meant it. No matter him acting like he was going to deliberately get them caught, he was genuinely going to try and work with Mark so they could hopefully beat the game. And when he and Mark put their minds to it, they were a great team. How else did they have 3 million subscribers on Unus Annus? Their viewers obviously thought they worked well together! With the introduction out of the way, they both got into the game. It was more interesting for Ethan this time around, since he could see the characters in colour - somehow, that made the game all the more creepy. The fact that the animatronic animals were bright colours of purple, yellow and pink was disconcerting considering that they were bloodthirsty and out for death. He wished that he could share the experience with Mark, but he still didn’t want to get into that conversation with him - he was an awful liar and wouldn’t be able to come up with a cover answer as to who his soulmate was. So it was going to be somewhat of a difficult task to not comment on anything colourwise throughout the game but there was no way he was going to let something so monumental slip.

Partway through, after they’d just finished one of the levels, Mark sat back and ran a hand through his hair - Ethan silently admired him through the camera, wishing he could feel his hair slipping between his fingers. But no, it wasn’t meant to be, according to the universe. Not only was he apparently a “late bloomer”, but his soulmate didn’t reciprocate the bond. Typical. 

Mark turned and watched him back, giving a smile, “You look rested, Eth. I’m glad.”  
A warm smile lit up Ethan’s face and he tipped his head to one side, “Aww, thanks Mark!”  
“No, really,” Mark’s face turned serious and he sat forward, giving a genuine smile, “After the last few days, it’s good to see you looking so well. I’ve been worried about you.”

It was Ethan’s turn for his face to get serious - why had Mark been so concerned? He didn’t think he’d been giving off any worrying vibes. And he hadn’t been feeling bad, necessarily… The soulmate situation had recently made him a little nervous, but he was handling it. Nothing had to change. Ethan was making sure of it.

“You don’t have to worry about me. You’ve got enough stuff to worry about, Mark! Your channel, your friends and family, Chica, Unus Annus, all the other stuff -”  
“Ethan, if you think any of that stuff is more important than you, you must be delusional.”

Ethan froze, blinking quickly to try and process just what it was that Mark had said, and if he had heard him correctly. No, he was hearing what he wanted to hear… He was nowhere near as important as Mark’s channel. That was his career, the one thing he’d worked so hard on to get to where it was after all these years!

“Huh?” was all he could mutter in response, wanting to hear Mark say it again because he knew his brain was probably being selective about what it heard.

“Well, obviously a lot of those things are super important to me and I’d rather not have to rank everything because, you know, but… if it came down to choosing between you and the channel, I’d always choose you. Hands down.”

Nope, Ethan had definitely heard right. He just didn’t understand how or why… He knew they were so close and great friends, but for Mark to say he was the most important thing to him… It felt like he was intruding on a life that wasn’t supposed to be his. If that even made any sense… Gulping down the lump that had formed in his throat, Ethan stared at Mark and felt tears building in his eyes.

“You can’t mean that. I’m not that important, I…”  
“Ethan, look at me.”

The tone of command in Mark’s voice was one that he could never ignore. Rubbing his eyes, Ethan looked directly into the camera and sniffed quietly.

“You are my best friend and I love you. I care for you and want nothing but your happiness. Hell, if I had to abandon the channel just so I could take care of you, I would.”

As Ethan reeled, speechless, staring into the camera, Mark gave a shrug, wanting to diffuse the tension of his emotional words - almost like he didn’t want to overwhelm him again, like he thought he had a few nights ago when he’d told him how proud he was of him.

“I think deep down you know that, right? But you care too much about everyone else to really acknowledge how important you are to people. Well, I’m telling you now, Ethan Mark Nestor - you are important, especially to me. My life would be nowhere near as fun without you in it, you know.”

Mark leaned forward more, resting his chin on his fist as he smiled warmly and genuinely at Ethan. The younger man could only stare back, tears beginning to pool at the bottom of his lower lash line until they spilled over down his cheeks. He knew that, if Mark could see colour, he would’ve noted how red his face had turned by now. Thankfully though, only Ethan could be aware of that factor.

“No no no, Eth, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make you cry. God, I can’t get it right, can I? I’m always going too overboard with you…”

There was a pained look on Mark’s face now, that much he could still see through the veil of tears in his eyes. He needed to speak up, tell Mark just how wrong he was! He was getting this all right, so so right, it just… wasn’t as right as Ethan needed him to be. There was just one more step towards being completely right, and that was Mark admitting that Ethan was his soulmate. But that wasn’t ever going to happen.

“It’s not your fault,” he sniffed, grabbing a tissue from the box the other side of his desk and wiping his face, “It’s just… well, it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. I knew you cared but not that much, you know?”

He had to stop speaking for a moment whilst he dabbed the tissue at his nose, to which Mark smiled at. Ethan saw him take a deep breath, before he spoke again.

“I feel awful asking when you’re in tears and all but… D’you wanna have dinner tonight?”

Ethan didn’t know why it would matter what state he was in for Mark to ask if he wanted to have dinner, so he gave him a weird look before shrugging, “Sure, yours or mine?”

“No, ah…” Mark seemed to be struggling for words and, as Ethan peered more closely at him through the camera, he could’ve sworn that his cheeks had a faint pink tint to them. “I mean, like… do you wanna go out to dinner, with me?”

Ethan squinted his eyes, the tears now having mostly stopped and he watched Mark to try and understand why he was being so shifty about asking him to dinner.

“Yeahhh, sure? Where did you wanna go?”

“God damnit. Look, Ethan, I don’t think you’re getting it - I’m asking you out to dinner.”

Mark still had his chin partly resting on his hand but also the tip of his thumb was pressing in between his lips - this was something of a nervous habit that Mark had. He didn’t get nervous often, but Ethan knew that habit for sure. He was nervous about asking Ethan if he wanted to have dinner with him. Wait… no, he had his wires crossed. It was most definitely not what he was thinking. No way… He cleared his throat and gave a short nod.

“Yeah, and I said yes. Mark, why are you being so weird about this?” He forced out a laugh, even though his heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute.

“If I didn’t know you better I coulda sworn you were doing this just to mess with me. Jesus, okay… Ethan, I am asking you out on a date. To have dinner with me. Understand?”

By now, Mark’s face was definitely red - his cheeks had blossomed with the colour and even the tips of his ears had gone kinda pink. Ethan, though, was frozen. As soon as he’d heard “on a date”, his mind had gone into overdrive and now nothing was working. All he could do was stare at Mark, his mouth having dropped open slightly. He must have been zoned out for too long because before he knew it Mark was rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the camera, clearly feeling embarrassed and wanting to move past the subject.

“You know what, just forget I ever said anything, okay? Let’s just get back to…”  
“Yes.”

It was at that moment that Mark paused, just barely glancing back at the screen to look at Ethan’s face. That one word had his attention back on the matter at hand, apparently. And Ethan didn’t know where or when he’d suddenly remembered how to think and speak, but he knew there was no way he was turning down a date with Mark. Yes, there were a few reasons why he also should have said no - the soulmate issue being the main one - but he would never forgive himself if he didn’t at least let himself have this one night with Mark where he could pretend that they might actually have a chance together. It was one night, one date… and with Mark, his soulmate. He could allow himself this one thing, and then he’d have to go back to reality once again.

“I’d like to go for dinner with you. As a date. Just tell me when and where.”

He managed to gather a genuine smile on his face, especially when he saw the look of hope and relief cross Mark’s features.

“Really? You’re not joking, right? This would be an awful time to joke about, Eth…”

Ethan shook his head with a small smile, lifting a hand to drift through his hair as he watched Mark.

“No joking, I promise. So long as you promise to be a gentleman on our date.”

A grin spread across Mark’s lips and he scooted closer to the camera, “I promise you this is going to be the best fucking date you’ve ever been on, Ethan. If you want the moon, you got it.”

Ethan felt his heart melt and yet, at the same time, it sank - he really shouldn’t be doing this. It was only going to cause himself pain in the end - even if his and Mark’s date went well and they kept dating for a while, it would never last. Mark would find his soulmate one day and then Ethan would be left in the dust, forgotten about, replaced… No he couldn’t think like that, he was going to stick by what he told himself. He was going to let himself have this one night, so he could treasure it for the rest of his life. This date was going to be perfect so that he could hold onto it as the one and only time he got to have a special, romantic night with his soulmate, Mark Fischbach.

“I don’t want the moon, Mark. So long as you’re there, that’s all I need.”

He aimed a warm smile at his friend who blinked as he watched him, then sucked his bottom lip into his mouth for a moment. There was a burst of movement as Mark began shutting down the game.

“Right, okay, I don’t care about this game anymore, it can go to hell. Ethan?”

He kept glancing at the camera as the game was being shut down and he turned off his recording lighting. Ethan couldn’t help but smile at how sweet it was to see Mark so excited.

“Yeah, Mark?”  
“I’ll come by your place to pick you up at 7. How’s that sound?”  
“Sounds perfect.”  
“Good. Awesome. Okay, well… I’ve got loads to do so I’ll text you in a sec, okay? I promise you, tonight is going to be the best night of your life.”

Ethan’s smile widened into a grin as he saw Mark turn his full attention to the camera for them to say goodbye for now.

“I can’t wait. See ya later, Papa Bear.”  
“That you will, Goldie Locks.”

And with that, they both disconnected from their cameras and Ethan took off his headphones, sitting back in his chair. He leaned back and tilted his head so he was staring at his ceiling. Whew, this was going to be one hell of a night… what had started out as his first Mark-free day had now turned into the start of date night with the one and only Markiplier. Let the fun begin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, I think there’s something in the air. Smells like... angst is on the horizon!!! (Because I’m nice giving you a heads-up~)


	5. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you’re all ready for the longest chapter I’ve ever written in my life. Seriously! But I just wanted to get this right because it’s special and I was looking forward to it just as much as you guys... I hope it doesn’t disappoint!

As soon as Ethan had cut off the video call with Mark, his mind had promptly begun overworking to the point where he couldn’t focus on doing one task at a time. Should he shower, or decide on an outfit? Also, should he buy flowers? Did people still buy their dates flowers? Not to mention he needed to call someone to watch over Spencer since he didn’t know how long he’d be out tonight and didn’t want to leave him alone for so long again. God, this was all so confusing and not what he thought he’d be doing with his day when he’d woken up that morning. However, there was one thing he needed to do desperately, and so he ran downstairs and through to the living room, lifting Spencer off the sofa into a hug, laughing giddily as the dog began licking his face.

“I’m going on a date with Mark, Spence!”

As he set him back down on the ground, he grinned as his dog barked up at him, his tail wagging as if he could understand what it was that Ethan had just told him. He was pretty sure that if Spencer could understand him then he would be just as happy still. After all, he’d sometimes had to listen to Ethan rambling on about how great Mark was when they were alone here in the apartment. Once the moment of celebration was over and Ethan had let out some of the excitement in his system - but not all of it, obviously, since he wanted the rest to be left for him to show Mark - he headed back upstairs to his bedroom to rummage through his closet. Spencer followed him, encouraged by the excitable energy that was radiating off of his owner, and flopped down on the floor at the foot of his bed to watch as Ethan basically pulled every single item of clothing he owned out and splayed them across his bed. He also set up his bluetooth speaker and set down his phone on the bedside table, loading up a playlist of his favourite songs to get him pumped and hopefully calm his nerves. He really had to relax - this was Mark, his best friend, they’d known each other for years. But a small voice at the back of his head whispered to him… it’s not meant to be. You’re not his soulmate. It’s going to end in tears for you. Ethan shook those thoughts away, not wanting to focus on negativity tonight. Nothing was going to get in the way of this date. Mark was his tonight, and only his. Regardless of what might happen in the future, no one was going to take Mark away from him during this date.

With a deep breath, Ethan began rifling through all of his clothes. Every so often he’d pick up a shirt, hold it up to himself in the full length mirror, then make a face. Spencer would bark his agreement with Ethan, tail wagging - his owner seemed excited for whatever he was doing and so he was going to help him however he could. After too much time had passed, Ethan had narrowed down his options to three different shirts. It was kinda hard to pick when he had no idea where they’d be going for dinner - he was pretty sure Mark was too excited to mention a place before they ended the video call. It didn’t matter, he supposed. Not like they’d be going to some michelin star restaurant. It was neither of their scenes, so he knew that Mark wouldn’t even think of taking him to a place like that. It helped that he’d already decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and chelsea boots. He wasn’t usually one for wearing boots since sneakers were the most comfortable option for his lifestyle, but he wanted to make an effort to look good for Mark. There was only one way he was going to know which shirt was better, and that was by trying them on with the jeans and boots. And so, that’s what he did. One was a deep green long sleeve button up shirt with which he could roll the sleeves up to his elbows. He quickly decided that was not the one. The second option was a black t-shirt which he thought would be cute paired with the jeans and boots so he could go for a smart casual look. However, as soon as the third option was on, he knew he’d found the one. It was a button up shirt with short sleeves in a pastel blue colour. For some reason, ever since he’d been able to see colour, he just always felt drawn to blue - especially soft, lighter shades. He turned around in front of the mirror, looking at the outfit from as many angles as possible, and Spencer got up from the floor, tail wagging fast as he stared up at Ethan. He gave a quiet yip of approval and Ethan smiled down at him before ruffling his ears, “Thanks, boy. I like this one too.”

With that, Ethan hurriedly shoved the rest of his clothes back in the closet - they weren’t important, he could sort that out tomorrow. He left his outfit of choice out on his bed and gave Spencer a few more pets before he headed through to the bathroom. On second thought, he came back and grabbed his speaker, then brought it with him, setting it on the windowsill. The music was really helping to keep him in a hopeful mood and he wanted that to continue through until the moment Mark appeared at his door. Just that thought had his heart racing as he undressed and hopped in the shower. He made sure to give himself the best shower he’d ever had in his life - hair shampooed and conditioned, as well as using a body conditioner on top of regular shower gel. After far too long, he stopped the water and got out, seeing that the mirror was fogged up which he cursed at. Wiping away the condensation, he gave himself a shave - he didn’t really get much facial hair anyway, but knew he looked better clean-shaven. Now that was all out of the way, he headed back into his bedroom. Spencer had apparently gotten bored waiting for him and left, so he closed the door and dropped the towel from around his waist, letting it pool on the floor. In the shower, a thought had come to him and he hadn’t been able to shake it away. Moving to stand in front of the full length mirror once more, Ethan looked himself over - obviously he was fresh out of the shower so wet hair wasn’t really a great look, but he wanted to check that he was happy and comfortable with himself before tonight. He wasn’t expecting anything sexual to happen, per say, but he was open to it and wanted to feel confident just in case the opportunity presented itself.

Mostly happy and comfortable in his own skin, Ethan picked the towel back up and dried himself off, as well as his hair. As it dried, he used a little gel and a comb to set it in place, admiring his work in the mirror afterwards. He gave a small smile and a nod before moving to moisturise himself all over, then gave himself a spritz with his favourite cologne. Now, to put the whole outfit together… He pulled on the shirt and jeans, giving himself another spray of the cologne - it wouldn’t hurt if the scent clung to his clothes, after all. He looked himself over in the mirror now pretty much his whole outfit was on, barring the boots, and couldn’t help but admire how much he liked his choice and taste in colours. It was a shame that Mark wouldn’t be able to appreciate the colours of his outfit, but he knew it would still look good regardless… His phone chimed with a text from his friend Mika who was letting him know that she’d just got home if he wanted to bring Spencer over to hers for the night. After he read it, he texted back his thanks and let her know he’d be on his way over soon. At the thought, he headed downstairs to pack up some things for Spencer’s stay at Mika’s place. He was comfortable with her looking after Spencer since they’d hung out loads with him around before and his dog was more than happy around her. Also, he could trust her to keep schtum about his attire when he obviously turned up at her door dressed up for the night, especially when he’d text her initially letting her know that he didn’t know what time he’d be getting back home. And that was true. He and Mark hadn’t set any plans in stone so who knows what time he’d come home! Now he had a bag full of Spencer’s essentials, and he urged him out of the apartment and into his car after slipping on some worn sneakers that he kept by the front door.

“Are you gonna stay at Aunty Mika’s tonight, Spence? How exciting! I’m so jealous, you’re gonna have so much fun!”

He grinned over at the dog as he stuck his head out of the passenger side window, tongue hanging out as he enjoyed the LA breeze. It wasn’t just Spencer that was gonna have fun tonight, though, that was for sure… 

When he pulled up to Mika’s apartment, she came to the door and smiled brightly, looking him up and down, “Wow! Someone’s dressed up smart. Who’s the lucky guy?” She gave him a conspiratorial wink.

Ethan blushed, handing her Spencer’s bag and then his leash, “Uh, I thought I’d give the Tinder scene a go. Yeah, I know, super cringe, right…?”

“Nah, I mean, I’ve been there plenty of times! You gotta live your life and have fun. So, you should go and knock his socks off.”

Mika gave him a grin as they hugged goodbye and Ethan ruffled Spencer’s fur before waving as he walked back to his car, “Later, Spence! Don’t have too much fun without me!”

“We will!” Mika called back, before leading Spencer inside and shutting the door.

Ethan was satisfied that Spencer would be safe and happy for the night, so he headed to a nearby florist and picked out a small bouquet of blue roses - after a long conversation with the lady there about who he wanted to buy flowers for and, basically, his whole life story, she’d shown him these rare finds. Blue roses weren’t found naturally, they were genetically modified so their petals were that colour, and she explained to him that the meaning behind this particular colour of rose was; ‘a desire for the unattainable’, or in her own words, “I can’t have you but I can’t stop thinking about you.” He knew that Mark wasn’t going to be able to appreciate the colour of the roses or even the meaning behind them, but Ethan wanted to at least show that he cared and wanted to give him something thoughtful. They were pretty, at the end of the day, regardless of their colour. Driving very carefully so as to not ruin them on the way home, he made his way back to the apartment again. When he arrived, he locked his car and headed in. Once back in his bedroom, he put his phone on charge since he still had about half an hour before Mark was due to arrive. Again, more butterflies in the pit of his stomach. It was kind of nerve-wracking that he hadn’t even texted Mark a single time since he’d agreed to the date, since he might have felt less nervous if they could chat like normal, but what was there to say? And besides, Mark had kinda implied that he had a lot of stuff to sort out before they went out so he didn’t want to bother him. Whatever that stuff was, Ethan had no clue. With a soft sigh, he loaded his playlist back up on his phone and grabbed his lint roller. Since he’d been around Spencer after getting dressed, he’d picked up a fair amount of dog hair, so he got rid of it whilst trying to get his heart to stop hammering as the time got closer and closer to 7pm. Just to pass some time, he checked himself out in the mirror again, gave himself another few spritzes of cologne, then pulled on his boots. As he stood staring at himself in the mirror, he took a long, deep breath and tried to give himself a pep talk.

“Ethan Mark Nestor. Get a hold of yourself. This is just a date and it’s just Mark. Got it? You’re gonna be fine. He’s not suddenly changed into a face-eating alien, has he? It’s just Mark. Good ol’ Markiplier…”

He deflated a little and put a hand to his face. Only, it wasn’t  _ just _ Mark. This was Mark, his gorgeous, kind, funny and thoughtful soulmate who didn’t reciprocate his feelings. He was sure it would be fine once they got into it, but the anticipation was shredding his nerves. As if forcing himself to make a decision, the doorbell rang and he felt his heart thump with a mixture of nerves and excitement.

“One sec!” he shouted down the stairs before unplugging his phone and shoving it in his pocket, as well as his wallet and keys. He skipped down the stairs two at a time before reaching the front door, flinging it open and giving an automatic smile, “Hey!”

Only, his brain kind of faltered in that automatic mode and instead melted into a puddle upon experiencing the sight waiting on his doorstep. Mark was standing there in a deep burgundy button up shirt with a grey waistcoat over the top. He had a few buttons at the top of the shirt undone so that his neck and some of his chest was visible, which made Ethan gulp when he spotted it. He tried really hard not to stare, honestly he did, but he couldn’t help it! And besides, they were going on a for-real date, he should be allowed to ogle Mark now, right? As if that wasn’t enough, his gorgeous dark hair was styled so that his wavy curls fell into his eyes just right and had the right balance between neat and unruly. It had Ethan’s breath catching in his throat. Mark truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

“Hey,” Mark replied softly, a faint grin lighting up his face as he watched Ethan, “Did you run down the stairs? There’s no rush, you know.”

Ethan felt heat creep into his cheeks as he realised Mark could tell he’d ran by his windswept appearance. He cleared his throat and gave a shrug, before his eyes widened and he held up a finger, “Hold on! Almost forgot something!”

He skipped into the living room and grabbed the roses off his coffee table, then made his way back to Mark, who was kind of amused to be left waiting on the doorstep. Ethan’s neighbours were for sure going to be gossiping amongst themselves if they saw him. As he came to the door again, he held the roses out towards Mark with a nervous sort of smile - he still wasn’t even sure if Mark would care about flowers, it’s just that to Ethan it had seemed important and kind of traditional…

“For you. The, uh, florist told me they’re blue roses which are super rare because they don’t come that colour naturally. I just thought that would be perfect for you because, well, you’re rare and unique too… if you hate them I can just keep them, it’s…”

“Ethan, they’re perfect,” was Mark’s quiet response.

Ethan looked up from where he’d been insistently staring at the flowers instead of watching Mark’s face in case his reaction was bad. He saw the gentle smile on his lips and felt his heart warm and a flutter in the pit of his stomach.

“You like them?”

Mark nodded and took them from him, inspecting them from a closer angle and smiling even more, “I do. They’re beautiful.”

Ethan was flooded with relief and he moved to step out onto the doorstep, locking the front door behind him, when he paused at the next soft words spoken by his friend.

“Just like you, Eth.”

His eyes widened and he slowly turned on the spot once more to catch an admiring look in Mark’s eyes as he took in the whole of Ethan’s form. Slowly his gaze swooped up from his feet to his hair, then dropped once more to meet Ethan’s eyes. A heart-melting smile settled upon Mark’s lips and he just knew in that moment that this night was going to be the death of him. With a nervous smile, slowly dipping his toes into the shallow end of this new area of their relationship, Ethan took a step towards Mark, summoning his courage.

“I could say the same about you, Markimoo.”

He couldn’t help but slip in that teasing nickname he loved to use, grinning with his tongue between his teeth when he saw Mark roll his eyes. But he needed him to know that he wasn’t messing about!

“Honestly, Mark. You’re…” he looked him slowly up and down as Mark had done to him and blew air out of his mouth noisily, “You’re breathtaking. Honestly. I mean, you usually are anyway, but tonight, um…. you know what I mean!”

He was relieved to hear Mark laugh and tip his head to one side, “I get it. And I’m very flattered to learn that the hottest guy I know thinks I’m hot too. I may win his heart yet, viewers, let’s wait and see.”

Ethan bit his bottom lip and shook his head, “Why don’t we get going? We don’t wanna spend the whole date here on my doorstep, do we? Also, you never did tell me where you were taking me.”

Mark inclined his head in acknowledgement, turning and heading back down the stairs to his car on the kerb, “You’re right, I didn’t.” He unlocked the car and opened Ethan’s door, giving a small bow as he approached.

Ethan snorted out a laugh as he bowed his head in return, “Thank you, good sir.” He then slipped into the passenger seat, taking Mark’s flowers so he could get into the car without crushing them. After a moment of Mark putting on his seatbelt, the radio, and starting the engine, Ethan glanced down at the bouquet, “Oh my god, I’m such an idiot. You’re gonna have to keep these in your car til you get back home later. I shoulda bought something that couldn’t die…”

Mark let out a bellow of a laugh, tipping his head back at the sight of Ethan’s sad face. “Dude, I think they’ll last a little while in here. Don’t worry. They’re still perfect, regardless of if they’ve wilted by the time we come back to the car later or not.”

He gave a teasing wink at Ethan’s horrified face, and chuckled a little more as he pulled into the road and started the drive to wherever it was they were going. Which Ethan still hadn’t had an answer on yet.

“You really don’t wanna tell me where we’re going, do you?” he questioned Mark, looking over at him as he cradled the bouquet in his lap, wanting to keep it safe whilst he could.

“You’ll find out eventually,” Mark replied, looking smug with himself as Ethan groaned in annoyance, “It’s not too far away. Besides, like I said earlier, there’s no rush. We have the whole night ahead of us, plenty of time for anything and everything.”

Those words had a little shiver creep up the back of Ethan’s neck. That hadn’t been a euphemism, he was sure, but something about the promise of them having the whole night together had his mind straying to the gutter. With Mark in tow, he might add.

“I know, it’s just… well, it was kinda hard getting an outfit together when I had no clue where I’d be going, ya know?”

“Yeah, that’s my bad, sorry,” Mark laughed through his apology, “When you said yes to this, I kinda got all over excited and, well, forgot everything important.”

Ethan smiled at Mark’s admittance of having been over excited. It was sweet to know that he’d been so hopeful for him to say yes to this date… he was so grateful that he got to see this side of Mark. On camera, the fans usually got to see the cocky, energetic, fun-loving Markiplier. But he got to see the soft, caring and vulnerable Mark that got nervous at being turned down for a date. He adored each and every part of Mark, even the cocky part of him which surfaced in real life every so often. Sometimes, admittedly, seeing him so self-assured was pretty hot. He wondered if that part of him surfaced in the bedroom… Swatting away that thought as soon as it’d appeared, Ethan mentally scolded himself. He was getting way too ahead of himself, the date had barely even started! And for all he knew, Mark might be the kind of guy that insisted on waiting for sex after at least three dates. The thing was, Ethan wasn’t too certain that there should be more than one date. Having multiple dates would just build up his hopes that they could have a future together romantically and he didn’t want to get hurt - he knew that after tonight it would be slightly painful to think on a future that could have been every time he saw Mark.

As they fell into a comfortable silence, Ethan tuned into the songs playing on the radio. He recognised the song currently playing, it was Colors by Halsey. He’d listened to it a few times before, she had a beautiful voice, and before he’d been able to see in colour he’d always fantasised about the things she sang about in this song. As a break down between choruses came on, Ethan found himself zoning in on her haunting words;

_ ‘You were red _

_ And you liked me because I was blue _

_ But you touched me _

_ And suddenly I was a lilac sky _

_ Then you decided purple just wasn’t for you.’ _

As those words washed over him, he glanced across at Mark who was obviously paying attention to the road - he really hoped that he could keep hold of him for as long as possible, but the song felt like it was singing straight to his soul and like it was a warning that Mark was going to change his mind about how he felt for him. Which he wasn’t even sure about right now. Yeah, he’d asked him on a date, but what exactly was it that Mark felt for Ethan? Maybe that was a conversation they needed to have before things went too far…

However, he was distracted from his thoughts when he felt the car pull over somewhere and he turned away from Mark, looking out of the window. He’d not been paying attention to where they’d been going really, even as he’d been sitting in silence - either too into the music on the radio or watching Mark. But, even as he looked out of the window, he didn’t recognise where they were anyway. There were green fields everywhere he looked, and not a building in sight… if he didn’t know his friend better, he would’ve been worried that perhaps he’d been brought out here to be murdered.

“This isn’t exactly dinner out like you probably were expecting,” Mark said softly, having turned the car off once he’d parked up, “But I wanted it to be special. I wanted to give you something you’ve never had before - and if by some crazy chance you’ve already done this kind of thing, I’ll be damned because I worked so hard.” He gave a laugh, which Ethan recognised as fairly nervous in its tones, and he turned his head to give Mark reassurance when he saw that the nerves weren’t just in his laughter - it was written all over his face. Ethan’s heart squeezed at the sight and he gathered some courage, reaching a hand out to place it on top of Mark’s, still resting on the gearstick. His thumb gently caressed the back of Mark’s hand and he watched as the nerves in his friend’s face eased off and Ethan too felt his own worry dissolve. With a smile, Mark turned his hand over and laced their fingers together - Ethan’s face was getting hot and suddenly there wasn’t enough air in the car. With a swallow, he matched Mark’s smile.

“Shall we head out? I want to see what you’ve got in store for me. I’m real curious now!”

“Of course. I don’t wanna keep you waiting.”

They let go of each other’s hands so they could get out of the car. Ethan sadly left Mark’s roses in his seat, hoping they’d be okay until they got back. After locking the car, Mark walked around the car towards him and immediately held out his hand for Ethan to take again. Without hesitation, Ethan grasped it and their fingers wove together once more - this date was already the best night he’d had in his whole life, and all they’d done was hold hands. It could only go up from here, he was sure. Mark then led him to a dirt pathway through the field he’d parked in - as Ethan looked back at the car, he saw that this was an old farmer’s field from the gate that was rusting at the entrance. And there were no animals to be seen for as far as the eye could see, so it was obvious that the area was no longer farmland, especially with how long the grass had been allowed to grow. He was grateful for the dirt pathway that Mark was leading them along, and it seemed to become a little more steep as they carried on.

“Did you know exactly where you wanted to bring me when you asked me out?” Ethan asked softly, feeling like it would be inappropriate to raise his voice any louder - the area was so quiet, and dusk was beginning to fall all around them. As he raised his eyes to peer at the sky, he noted hints of red and orange beginning to bloom amongst the deepening blues and purples. It truly was a beautiful evening, and he was starting to understand why Mark had brought him outside. What was better than the natural beauty of the world around them?

“Yep,” came Mark’s reply from just ahead of him, and he briefly turned his head to grin at Ethan, “Even though, when I asked you out it was kind of a spur of the moment decision.” When he saw the look of uncertainty that was manifesting on Ethan’s face, he hurried on with his explanation, “I mean, I’d been planning on asking you out for quite some time, that’s why I knew where I’d be bringing you, but I was kinda surprised at myself at the timing. Though... I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Ethan was relieved at Mark’s explanation and a satisfied smile lit up his face. Mark had been wanting to ask him out for a while? That kind of explained the increase in flirting and cheesy pick up lines lately. He’d been testing Ethan’s reactions to figure out whether he should ask or not - it made him feel squishy and warm inside to know Mark had had this on his mind for quite some time.

“That’s sweet,” he said quietly, giving Mark’s hand a gentle squeeze of appreciation, “You know, I have to say that I already feel super special. And I’ve not even seen what we’re doing yet.”

With a laugh, Mark began tugging him forward with a bit more purpose now, and Ethan noticed that their steps were gradually increasing at more of an incline.

“I’m glad because you’re about to feel even more special when we get to the top of this hill,” he announced with confidence, tugging Ethan up and up. As Ethan looked behind them, he saw that Mark’s car was down at the bottom of this hill, which had such a slow building incline that he hadn’t noticed it was a hill when they’d first got out. His head whipped around to look back at Mark with surprise - it was almost like his friend was taking him to the stars for their date. The thought had his heart beating quickly in his chest, and he tightened his grip on Mark’s hand. When the pathway began to even out and he knew they weren’t walking at an incline anymore, Ethan trained his gaze away from Mark and the sky, and noticed, with a gasp, a table set out before them. It was surrounded by wooden trellis which had been interwoven by blue and white fairy lights, probably the same ones that Mark had hung up in the blanket fort only two days before, and there were some candles in lanterns scattered about to light up the slowly-dimming surroundings. As Mark led him closer, Ethan noticed that there were also pink fairy lights draped on the floor lining their path to the table, and he felt tears sting his eyes - he was already overwhelmed with affection for Mark at this point, and he was unsure of how he was meant to go on for the rest of the night without being an emotional wreck.

When they reached the table, Ethan saw that there was a bowl in the middle filled with water and with flower petals and candles floating in it. He looked up at Mark, able to see his gorgeous face highlighted by the glow of the candles and fairy lights, and he gave a little sniffle as he smiled widely, “You weren’t wrong when you said you had loads of stuff to sort out. Mark, I… don’t know what to say. Or how to thank you…”

Mark had seen the tears in his eyes, apparently, because he stepped closer and lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Ethan’s to touch his chin, then reached up to wipe away a stray tear. “Ethan… you don’t have to say anything, and you definitely don’t have to thank me. I want to show you just how special you are and just how much you mean to me.” He leaned in, which made Ethan’s heart give a thud in his chest, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, before he pulled back again, “Why don’t we sit down and enjoy the food for a while?”

Food? Oh, duh,  _ of course _ . Mark had promised dinner, regardless of where they went. Though Ethan was curious as to who had made this food, how it’d got here, and how it was still hot - he could see the steam coming off the plates. He felt Mark let go of his hand, only to move to one of the two chairs and pulled it out for him - of course he was being a fucking gentleman. Ethan could have laughed at that if he wasn’t fighting against tears still. He offered a watery smile before taking the seat pulled out for him, then pulled the chair back into the table himself, “Thanks, Mark.”

As he settled into the seat, whilst Mark went to sit in the chair next to him, Ethan looked out past the table and gasped aloud when he spotted the view before them. He lifted up out of the seat a little, leaning on the table, and gaped at what he could see - the skyline of LA stretched out for miles to see, and the changing colours of dusk were beautiful. Past the green of the fields, he could see the buildings in the distance from the city, their lights twinkling in the dying light of day. The combination of the colours of the sky, as well as the lights of the buildings of the city they lived in, had his breath faltering in his throat. He swallowed hard, sitting back down in his chair, and then looked across at Mark who’d been watching him with a strange look on his face. Ethan didn’t know what had come over him, but he couldn’t help himself - he scooted sideways in his seat to be closer to Mark, laid a hand on his cheek and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his lips. It was only a few seconds, with their lips warm and softly melting together, before Ethan pulled back, face flushed and his eyes were wide at how forward he’d been. Mark still had his eyes closed, for just a moment, and then he opened them again - as he did so, he licked his lips as if remembering the feeling of Ethan there mere seconds ago, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

“Well, I was trying to be a gentleman and wait until at least after we’d eaten before I kissed you, but I can’t say that I’m complaining,” he murmured, voice a low baritone which had Ethan’s stomach plummeting. That wasn’t the only thing that had his stomach feeling all funny though - Mark’s pupils had dilated and so it looked as if his eyes were almost completely black. Of course, his eyes were a deep brown colour anyway, but Ethan shivered at the difference he was seeing now. He offered something of a bashful smile in response, sitting back in his seat and laying his hands on the table top.

“I just couldn’t help it - this is all so beautiful and thoughtful, it must have taken you so much time and I don’t know how you managed it. Especially since you look so good too! How did you have the time to get dressed up and looking so handsome? Well, I guess it doesn’t really take much for you, you’re always so gorgeous…” he muttered, biting his bottom lip as he glanced back over at his date. His date who had begun grinning, and he could have groaned at the reappearance of that all too familiar cockiness that Mark was known for.

“Well, what can I say? I gotta do something to get your attention since I’ve been trying for so  _ fuckin’ _ long,” he kept grinning, giving Ethan a wink when he spotted his wide eyes, “I never woulda guessed that you thought I was hot with how long it’s taken for me to get you to agree to a date with me. Not that I’ve ever asked outright before today, I guess… Anyway! You’ve not even looked at the food, and it’s only gonna be warm enough for so long out here. Let’s eat!”

That was a good point - Ethan had no idea what food was on their plates since he’d been so preoccupied with their surroundings and, mostly, looking at Mark. Taking the hint, he swivelled in his seat and took a look at what had been laid out for them to eat and was surprised. There were a fair few different bowls and plates spread out across the table, all with lids on so he had no idea what was beneath, and he noted that none of them were the same size. Wanting to know what mouth-watering meals were in front of them, since he could tell it was good food just from the smells alone, he looked back up at Mark who was fairly amused as he smiled at him.

“So, I know that you’ve always wanted to try proper Korean food since I’ve talked it up so much. And I don’t really get to eat it as often as I’d like. So, with help from my mom and her contacts, we have a feast of Korean cuisine. I’ll tell you what everything is.”

With that, Mark took great pleasure in pointing out each plate or bowl, lifting the lids, and telling Ethan what the dish was called, as well as what ingredients it contained and what sort of flavours it had. There was a large range varying from things he knew of, like Kimchi, to dishes that he’d never heard about but wished he had. His belly rumbled as Mark described everything, and he couldn’t wait to dig in. When he was fairly familiar with all the food before him, Mark grinned, his eyes glinting with delight, and watched Ethan eagerly.

“You ready to try it all?”

“Mark, I don’t know how you have to even ask that - I’m salivating here!”

Mark threw his head back with a laugh, then nodded and gestured to the table, “Go ahead.”

And so Ethan did - he took a bite from each dish, taking his time to savour the combination of flavours before moving onto the next one. He was glad that Mark wasn’t going to just watch him eat since that would have made him a little nervous and also very self conscious just in case he didn’t like something. Besides, Mark needed to eat too! He deserved it after pulling this all together. Which reminded him, he needed to find out how he’d done it…

“So,” he began between mouthfuls, looking over as Mark tucked into a bite of one of the pancakes, “Just how did you put all of this together? Did you use some of the old Markiplier charm to reel some favours in?”

Mark smiled and swallowed the food before shaking his head, “Not at all. Actually, I set up this whole area myself a couple hours ago. The only thing I had help with was the food. Like I said, my mom has contacts in LA who are great at cooking and they were more than happy to help out. Had them bring it here and put out the food just before we arrived. That’s why it’s still hot.”

Ethan’s eyebrows raised so high in his surprise that he was sure they’d be hidden in his hairline.

“How the hell did you get all of this done yourself?!” When Mark just shrugged with a small smile, Ethan was all the more amazed, “Mark Fischbach, the world does not deserve you.”

At that comment, Mark’s smile had dropped for a moment, then he cleared his throat and slid over in his chair to push a stray curl of Ethan’s hair out of his eyes, “But Ethan, I do not deserve to be having this date with you. Do you know how much it means to me that you said yes?” His eyes searched Ethan’s before he let out a soft sigh, “You’ve made me the happiest man alive and I just want to spend the rest of time itself trying to make you that happy in return.”

Ethan was transfixed and could only stare back at Mark, swallowing down the lump in his throat - how had he been friends with him for years and not been able to pick up on how deeply Mark felt for him? Surely there must have been signs along the way… or was he really just that oblivious? And, god, he felt the exact same way. He wanted to scream it from the rooftops but there was that incessant voice at the back of his head holding him back, reminding him that he wasn’t Mark’s soulmate and so he shouldn’t be getting too involved, it would only end in heartbreak for him. Also… why had Mark let himself get in so deep when he was well aware that he wasn’t destined to be with him? All of these thoughts skimmed across his mind, but all that left his lips was, “Oh, Mark…”

With that, he did all that he could think of doing to convey how he was feeling, and leaned in just as Mark did, and their lips met for the second time that evening. This time, they didn’t break apart within seconds. Mark’s hand moved to the back of his neck, fingers burying in his hair, and Ethan let out a soft sigh into his mouth. He scooted even closer without falling off his chair, one of his hands sliding down to hold Mark’s waist, enjoying the warmth of his body beneath his fingers. How he wished he could feel what it was like beneath his clothes… As their lips continued moving together, he felt Mark’s tongue slide along his bottom lip and eagerly he parted his lips, shivering as his tongue began licking at every corner of the inside of his mouth. As their tongues met, Ethan gave a quiet groan, feeling heat shoot down to the pit of his stomach. He broke away from the kiss, fingers digging into Mark’s waist so hard now that his knuckles were white, and they breathed in each other’s air whilst they panted for breath. Mark grinned, a devilish twinkle in his eyes, before he surged back in for another kiss, his free hand sliding around to the small of Ethan’s back. A moan left Ethan’s mouth as he immediately let Mark back in, and he reached for his hair, tugging ever so gently at the dark locks - which earned him the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, a deep moan from Mark Fischbach. He didn’t think angels singing could be any more beautiful than the sound of Mark moaning. And it seemed to have a direct effect on his biological makeup because heat just kept rushing down to the lower half of his body. After not enough time had passed, Mark was the one to break them apart and he pressed his forehead against Ethan’s, both their eyes still closed.

“I think maybe… we should hurry up and finish dinner. I’ve got dessert back at my place,” Mark murmured suggestively, and Ethan opened his eyes to see his date staring at him with that darkened gaze once more. He gulped heavily and nodded, prising himself away from Mark to make himself turn back to the table, only to regret being so far away from him. Besides, even though the food was delicious, he wasn’t hungry anymore. What he wanted was sat in the chair next to him staring at him like he was the next course.

“Screw this, let’s go,” Ethan boldly decided, standing up and grabbing Mark’s hand. Getting the hint, Mark stood too and he couldn’t help but stare in surprise at Ethan as he began leading the way back down the hill.

“Wait, Eth - are you sure? I mean, mom’s friends are gonna come back to collect this all later, but…”

“I’m done with the food, Mark,” was Ethan’s response, and he glanced back at his friend with a determined look in his eyes, “I know what I want.”

That was all the motivation Mark needed to take the hint, and he smirked, sending a surge of electricity straight to Ethan’s groin. Now, Mark was back in his usual role, speeding ahead of Ethan and tugging on his hand, “Then let’s go. I’m getting real hungry for… dessert.”

Ethan followed along eagerly, and it seemed like the journey back to the car took double the time that the way up had. Though he supposed they were both in more of a rush to get back this time though, with anticipation pumping through their veins. Something inside him knew that they’d both been waiting for this moment for far too long…

_ Finally _ Mark unlocked his car when it was in sight, and just like before he’d opened Ethan’s door for him, only to steal a kiss from him before he poked his tongue out and slid into the passenger seat - completely forgetting about the roses laid there, and squashing them flat. He squeaked in realisation, lifting himself up and retrieving the sad looking bouquet. “No,” he whined, pouting at his own stupidity. A loud laugh bellowed out of Mark and he doubled over, holding onto Ethan’s still-open door whilst he clutched his stomach.

“Oh geez… Eth, it’s okay. Look, maybe I can get someone to press them or something. They’ll still be a memory,” he suggested, wiping a tear from his eye as he dipped down to kiss his cheek, “I still love them.”

With that, he closed the door and hurried around to his side of the car, getting in, buckling up and starting the engine. The radio came on and Ethan, despite his sadness because of the flowers, smiled as they pulled away from the field and headed to Mark’s house. He jerked in surprise when he felt a hand lay on his thigh and he looked up to watch Mark glance at him with a smirk before going back to watching the road. Ethan inhaled deeply before laying his hand on top of Mark’s and enjoying the shivers that were wracking his body. This was going to be the longest car journey he’d had in his life.

After what felt like an eternity, with anticipation still running high and the tension in the car only building as they sneaked looks at each other whilst shifting their hands to various - appropriate for driving - places on each other’s bodies, they pulled up at Mark’s house. With the car in the garage, Ethan took a deep, shaky breath as they approached the front door. They walked close to each other, fingers brushing together, and Ethan had never felt more alive than in this moment. Mark unlocked the door and they both had to give Chica some attention before she went back to her bed to sleep - she’d had a long day following Mark about as he stressed about making this date perfect. Then, with some intent, Mark closed the front door, with Ethan still only just inside, making sure to cage him with his arm and his body, crowding him up against the wood as he locked the door behind him. Licking his lips, Ethan stared into Mark’s eyes and knew that this was going to be a long, long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo here are a few things:  
> 1) Anyone get the very obvious reference to the title of the fic I very purposefully put in?  
> 2) Here’s the website I used for flower meanings: https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/flowermeanings/rose-flower-meanings  
> 3) So here is where we have the option - do we want the next chapter to be smut or shall I write a separate one shot for all you lovely people that would prefer not to read it? (If any of you would prefer not to - I don’t judge ;) )  
> LASTLY  
> 4) The angst is still on the horizon, but don’t worry, it’s alllll gonna blow over whenever it comes!


	6. Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a few things...  
> 1) There is no actual smut in this chapter. For anyone uncomfy with smut (spoilers ahead) they get undressed and then I cut to the afterglow basically. I had a battle with myself and decided to leave the actual thing to your imaginations. If anyone wants to have a go at writing the scene yourself, you have my full permission! If you still aren’t sure about whether to read this chapter because of the “foreplay”, skip to where you see an ellipsis (three dots) and you’ll be safe from there. Especially because...  
> 2) There is angst in the second half of this chapter!  
> 3) When I was writing the “good” half of this chapter I was listening to Inside Your Mind by The 1975 and I definitely recommend it because it helped set the mood a LOT.  
> 4) Just to reiterate, please do not mention this fic or crankiplier to Mark, Ethan, Amy, Mika or anyone they know. Whilst we’re all aware it’s all made up and we don’t think they’re secretly in a relationship, etc, we still don’t want to disrespect anyone! So please bear that in mind. :)  
> Now enough of me rambling. Enjoy! <3

Mark had no idea that his first date with Ethan would end with him in his bed… but clearly, that’s what was on both their minds as he locked the front door behind them and chucked his keys in the bowl in the hallway. Deliberately keeping eye contact with his friend, he toed off his shoes inside the door and then flicked off the light in the living room, letting Chica sleep. Slowly he turned and made his way up the stairs.

“Coming?” he called, glancing over his shoulder and catching the sight of Ethan going pink and nodding before he also kicked off his shoes and began following him up the stairs. Mark smiled to himself as he turned his head back, the thrill of the events to come making adrenaline surge through his body. When they got to the top of the stairs, he took a couple of steps before he got the urge to kiss Ethan - and so he did. Spinning suddenly, he pressed him up against the nearest wall, hearing him let out a high pitched, surprised kind of “oof!” sound. If the situation was different, he would have commented on how adorable he was and how much he wanted to pinch his cheeks - but now was not the time for that, now was the time for showing him some of the other things that he made him feel. He laid one hand on the wall next to Ethan’s head, and the other landed on his hip, thumb stroking circles there and he imagined what the soft skin would feel like underneath those jeans. Watching his face for a few seconds to check for his reaction (cheeks flushed and pupils dilated), he leaned in and kissed him, the hand beside his head moving to cup his cheek as he did so - a soft noise escaped Ethan’s lips as he noticeably melted into the wall, hands grasping at Mark’s hips as they both languidly exploded each other’s mouths. It was only soft and slow for a little while though, until the heat between them steadily began to rise and take hold, and Mark could only press in against Ethan so much with the barrier of clothing between them. He broke away hastily, realising that there was nowhere near enough bare skin in this equation, and he knew he wanted to see Ethan naked and spread out on his bed.

“Bedroom. Now,” he muttered, pulling away from his friend, grabbing his hand, and tugging him in that exact direction. Behind him he heard Ethan take a loud, deep breath and couldn’t help but feel a shock of pride go straight to his groin at the thought that he’d done that to Ethan,  _ he _ had made him breathless. And there was still far more that he could do to bring about his undoing, that was for sure. If Ethan wasn’t strung out and boneless at the end of this, he would consider himself a failure. But Mark wasn’t a quitter and he had more than enough encouragement to work towards that goal of his. The thought of Ethan’s face flushed and vivid eyes glossed over with pleasure was motivation enough. He wanted to see that for real and not just in his imagination.

When they were both in his room, he closed the door behind them and turned to take both of Ethan’s hands - whilst he was more than certain they were both on the same page, he just had to double check.

“You still want to do this? Because if at any point you change your mind, that’s okay. And I mean that.  _ Any  _ point in time, you tell me to stop and I will. Okay Eth?”

“Of course,” Ethan replied softly, and it seemed like Mark’s words had not toned down the mood whatsoever but had just shifted it a little - whilst they were clearly both horny they had to be responsible. Ethan’s next words had his heart warming with adoration though, “And if you change your mind, it’s okay too. ‘No’ works both ways. I only want this if you want it too, Mark.”

Ethan reached a hand up and cupped Mark’s cheek, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, “And it’s only fun when we  _ both  _ want it. Which… I’m pretty sure we both do right now.” Mark watched as he glanced down between them purposefully, and then looked back up at his face, a grin working its way onto his lips. Mark cursed internally at the shit-eating look Ethan was giving him, knowing that every little thing he did just had Mark falling harder and deeper every day. He  _ really _ needed him naked right now.

“Right - for being a smart ass, I think you need to get naked, Nestor,” he retorted, slipping a hand down to grab the hem of Ethan’s shirt - cute as he looked in it - and give a meaningful tug on the material. Sure, he’d seen Ethan almost-naked a couple of times for videos, but there was never any time for ogling or appreciation in those moments. Especially when there were always other members of the crew around.  _ Now  _ though, they were alone, and he had all night to admire and  _ worship _ the beauty that was Ethan Mark Nestor. At his request slash command, Ethan quirked an eyebrow, looking like he was going to resist, but he decided against it. For that, Mark was glad - he hoped they’d have many other opportunities to explore what they both liked - including Ethan taking charge if he wanted to - but tonight he just wanted to show Ethan how much he meant to him and, obviously, give him the pleasure he so deserved. With satisfaction, he watched as the younger man began to unbutton his shirt, eyes downturned as he did so - it was understandable for him to be a little nervous, even though they were friends they’d never done anything like this together before. Mark was a little sad to see the shirt coming off since it was a cute colour on him and somehow Ethan had managed to put together an outfit made out of colours that suited him rather well. However, his eagerness to see him shirtless far outweighed any reluctance he had.

“I wanna see you naked too, ya know,” mumbled Ethan as he pushed his shirt off his shoulders and let it drop to the floor, and as Mark took a couple of steps closer to him, he lifted a hand and tipped up Ethan’s chin so they were eye to eye.

“And you will,” he promised, leaning in to drop a gentle kiss to his friend’s lips. The hand at his chin moved around to cup the back of Ethan’s head and hold him in place as he closed the distance between them and laid his free hand on Ethan’s stomach. The soft skin there was hot and oh so tempting that Mark knew he had to feel every single inch of his body, no doubt about that. They continued to kiss as Ethan worked to undo his jeans and begin sliding them down over his hips. Mark gave a chuckle and pulled back to allow him some room to shuck them off completely, so now he was in nothing but his socks and underwear - the smile on Mark’s face died away as he took the time to appreciate the sight of Ethan almost-naked in his bedroom just for him. He let out a soft breath, for once at a loss for words, except he knew that he should join him in his state of semi-nakedness, that’s for sure. It was only fair. Quickly he reached up and unbuttoned his waistcoat, laying it on the chair in the corner of the room, then did the same with his shirt underneath. He was pleased to see that this was a distraction for Ethan from feeling self conscious, as he knew he would be without even asking him. He could tell from the look in his eyes and the way that a pink blush was spreading across his chest. Stepping closer to him once more, he gave a smile when he noticed Ethan’s gaze taking in his chest, his eyes seeming to dart here and there to take it all in. And he couldn’t wait to be able to take the time to do the same, but he wanted to memorise Ethan’s body and so he needed to be able to focus to do that. When they were both suitably naked, then he would take the time. The younger man seemed to snap out of his staring because he reached to pull off his socks as Mark undid his trousers, shoving them down his legs and off, everything ending in a heap on the chair except for his shorts. Now they were pretty much both there, Ethan didn’t seem to be able to help himself from licking his lips as his gaze dropped to look at Mark’s legs. He was surprised that this was what Ethan was paying attention to, but in all honesty he didn’t mind. He was more than happy for any chance he got to be the focus of Ethan’s attention, especially when he could see his pupils slowly overtaking the green and brown tones of his irises.

“God, Mark,” came his friend’s hushed voice as he just kept staring, seemingly unable to take in enough of his body to satisfy him, “I feel like I’m seeing you for the first time…”

Mark’s heart stuttered at those words and he swallowed down the lump in his throat - Ethan was never usually so poetic in his vocabulary, and the hope deep inside him wished that maybe he was suddenly seeing Mark in colour the way that Mark could see  _ him _ in colour… But no, he could never be so lucky. Shaking away that troublesome thought, he stepped close so he could grab Ethan’s hands again, lacing their fingers together. A smile pulled at his lips as he began herding Ethan backwards towards his bed, and Ethan seemed to take the hint, sitting down on the edge of the mattress when the backs of his knees hit it. The sight of Ethan sat almost naked on his bed below him was one that almost knocked the breath out of him. He let go of one of his hands to drift his fingers through the soft, brown locks of his hair, watching as Ethan seemed to lean into his touch, eyes drifting closed - clearly he was becoming more comfortable now, and for that Mark was glad.

“I know what you mean,” he murmured as he dropped to his knees, then leaned in and began peppering Ethan’s collarbones with light kisses, “Feeling like you’re seeing me for the first time. I get it. And I feel exactly the same with you, Eth.” Ever so slowly, he began lowering himself, and his kisses went with him - down Ethan’s chest, to his belly (which had him giggling delightfully), then his hips and the insides of his thighs. This last part had Ethan’s legs tensing and Mark, from his current height, saw him growing hard in the confines of his shorts. Seeing this had Mark’s mouth watering and he had to refrain from getting too ahead of himself. Instead, he glanced up at Ethan’s face, seeing him bite his bottom lip because he’d obviously noticed what Mark had seen. Wanting to reassure him about how much he  _ wanted _ to see Ethan that way, Mark leaned back up on his knees and pushed up into a kiss. Ethan’s hands laid on his neck and they both enjoyed the warmth and closeness for a while, until Mark broke away, stood up, and urged Ethan to shuffle backwards and lay down on his back. He saw Ethan swallow and couldn’t help but smirk with satisfaction, crawling onto the bed after him and he settled with straddling his thighs.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured sincerely after looking Ethan all over for a few moments, enjoying the sight of his pale chest flushed pink, and the colour spreading below the waistband of his shorts.

“Nowhere near as gorgeous as you,” Ethan mumbled, staring up at Mark and licking his lips, “I keep having to remind myself that I’m actually awake and that this whole day hasn’t been some crazy dream…”

A grin slowly spread across Mark’s face at Ethan’s admittal that he kept thinking this was a dream - the thought that, before this, Ethan could possibly have dreamt about him had his ego inflating at least ten times the size that it already was. “Well, Nestor, your dreams might be about to come true,” he murmured, voice dropping to a low baritone as he began pulling down Ethan’s shorts and sliding down the bed with them, only to dip his head down and begin worshipping Ethan like he’d wanted to for so long.

…

With one last strung-out groan, Mark flopped down beside Ethan on the bed, both of them panting for breath and coming down from the mutual highs they’d brought about in each other. Mark reached for Ethan’s hand and wove their fingers together, giving a squeeze to try and let him know his brain would be back to functioning normally soon. Until that moment, he turned and buried his face in the crook of Ethan’s neck, pressing a gentle kiss to the sensitive skin there. When he had mostly calmed down and regained all of his senses, Mark slowly sat up and looked down at Ethan, smiling when he saw a sleepy smile aimed right back at him.

“Not to be cliche or anything, but… good?” he asked, laughing through the last word because he knew he didn’t even have to ask. The mess they’d made of themselves and the bed was enough proof of that.

Ethan began giggling, but found that it was difficult to stop now he’d started. Mark grinned, enjoying seeing his friend laughing, and eventually joined in even though he knew his joke hadn’t been  _ that  _ funny. It was Ethan’s laughter that was contagious and  _ extremely  _ adorable. It had Mark wanting to screw the cute right out of him.  _ Again.  _ Shaking his head, he quickly ran to grab a wet flannel from the bathroom, then brought it back and began cleaning off Ethan’s chest and stomach.

“I still have yet to receive your verdict,” Mark murmured with a smirk, though there was a tenderness in his eyes as he took care cleaning him up.

“ _ Very  _ good,” was all Ethan could manage to sneak out between giggles before he took a deep breath and then yawned, stretching his arms and legs out. “God, Mark, keep lookin’ at me like that with those beautiful brown eyes and I might just…” Ethan paused and his eyes widened, looking as if he’d just witnessed a murder. Mark froze too, noting that Ethan had mentioned his eyes were  _ brown _ \- which was true, Mark had seen it for himself now. Which begged the question… could Ethan see in colour? How long had he been able to see in colour? Who was his soulmate? A hundred questions were sprinting through Mark’s mind all whilst Ethan laid frozen staring up at him as if afraid to move.

“I mean, u-um…” Ethan stuttered, his face and chest going pink from where he’d obviously let slip something that he hadn't wanted Mark to know. So, he’d been able to see colour throughout this whole date and yet he’d still gone along with it, knowing that Mark wasn’t his soulmate?  _ Jesus,  _ they’d even had  _ sex.  _ Swallowing around a very large lump in his throat and blinking back the tears stinging at his eyes, he stepped back from the bed and went to grab some pyjama shorts, his exterior radiating calm whilst his interior was on fire.

“Well, this was fun,” he said in a flat tone of voice, wanting to push away any emotions that were desperately clogging up his throat, “I’ll drive you back to your apartment and I’ll text you tomorrow if any editing needs doing for Unus Annus.”

Ethan was still silent over in his bed, although he had sat up and was just staring at him, so Mark turned and picked up his clothes from the floor, putting them in a pile at the end of the bed, “You should get dressed so we can go. It’s pretty late and some of us get up early in the mornings.” He tried out a laugh but it just came out wrong. Heading over to the chair in the corner he pulled back on his trousers, shoes and shirt, only turning around when he heard a quiet voice from across the room.

“Mark…” He looked up to meet Ethan’s eyes finally, though he wished he hadn’t because those eyes were going to be the death of him, “Please don’t let this change us. I don’t want to lose you. I’d rather have you as a friend than not have you at all…”

Mark snorted and turned around to face the window, crossing his arms over his chest, “Bit late for that now, don’t you think? We crossed the ‘friend’ line already. Come on, get dressed. I’m gonna take you home and then I really need to get some sleep. I’ll be downstairs waiting”

Ethan seemed to shrink in on himself as Mark passed by him to leave the room, and as he headed down the stairs he had to bite on his fist to stop the sobs that wanted to escape his lips. He wasn’t going to do this with Ethan in the house. They needed time apart and he needed to have a serious think. And then they’d have to talk…

Keys in hand, Mark was waiting by the front door when Ethan timidly came down the stairs in his wrinkled clothes. He had tear tracks down his cheeks but Mark forced himself not to remark on it or offer any comfort. If he gave in now, he wouldn’t be being fair to himself. “Let’s go,” he muttered before leading the way out the door and to his car. When they were both buckled in and the car was out on the road, Mark turned off the radio purposefully. He didn’t care if there was an awkward silence, he just wanted to get Ethan home and then be alone so he could have his time to scream at the world for being unfair.

When they arrived at Ethan’s apartment, his friend hesitated before getting out - it was clear in the clenching of his jaw that he wanted to say something but couldn’t gather the courage to. Instead, he cleared his throat and just barely glanced at Mark before opening the car door, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll text you tomorrow.” With that, he was gone and heading into his apartment. Mark waited only to see him safely inside before he drove off, tears finally spilling from his eyes and he pounded his fist on the steering wheel. For once, he’d thought that he’d found the one for him and that maybe he could be happy and content with this one person that had stolen his heart. When it turns out that this person had never been meant for him at all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this one was a bit shorter but because of my inner turmoil with the whole smut/angst thing I didn’t want either of them to go on for too long! Hopefully it didn’t take away from anyone’s enjoyment. As always, let me know what you thought! <3


	7. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again lads!  
> So, this chapter is a bit of an emotional one so take your time with it, I’d recommend!  
> Thanks again to everyone for your continued support throughout this rollercoaster of a journey. <3  
> One more thing - I hate to be a nag, but lately I’ve noticed on recent Unus Annus videos that people are consistently commenting suggesting that Mark and Ethan read fanfics for a video. I’m not implying that anyone reading this is making these comments, but please please please do not ask Mark and Ethan to read fanfiction! We keep real life and fanfiction separate in order to respect the boys as well as Amy, Mika and anyone else that may be represented in our work. So please, let’s keep this amongst us fans, okay? Now, enough nagging, and off we go~!

Ethan didn’t sleep at all during the night - he’d tried a few times, having had no energy when he got home to change out of his shirt and jeans, so he’d all but collapsed into bed - but whenever he’d closed his eyes all he’d seen was Mark’s emotionless face behind his eyelids. So, he’d changed into some pyjamas, washed the gel out of his hair and made his way into the recording room - if he couldn’t sleep, he might as well make the most out of this free time and do some editing, maybe even record a Let’s Play. He was in need of a distraction from the night he’d just had which had started out like the best he’d had in his whole life, only to plummet and become a nightmare. Shaking his head of those thoughts, he began loading up some recording footage he’d done a few days ago and then started up his editing software so he could get to work. Every so often, his mind would inevitably drift to the events of the night and he’d find his vision blurred by tears, so he’d squeeze his eyes shut tight and curse at himself to get a grip. This was pretty much how the rest of the night went until all his footage was edited into some form of acceptable video, and then he started up recording for something new. His thoughts drifted back to the game he was planning on playing yesterday before… well, before his plans were changed. And so he decided why not make the most of it and record himself playing so that his viewers could experience it with him too?

In fact, Ethan ended up enjoying the game a lot - the neon horror was different to horror games he’d played before, and it gave him the distraction that he very much needed. So much so that when he eventually finished up recording and pulled off his headphones, there was sunlight trying to peek through the black out blind over his window. Ethan blinked in realisation that he’d been working the whole night through, and looked at his watch for confirmation - how was it 8am already?! With a sigh, he skimmed a hand through his hair and then pulled out his phone as he made his way through to the bedroom, plugging it in to charge. When the screen lit up to tell him it was charging, he saw Mark’s name appear in his notifications - just the sight of that had his heart fluttering with nerves and his stomach clenched. No, he wouldn’t look yet. He needed time to relax and get himself under control otherwise he’d make a fool out of himself if he tried to talk to Mark. Especially when it was 99.9% likely to be something to do with Unus Annus. He had to be professional, regardless of what might have happened between them personally. Forcing himself away from the phone, he made his way to the bathroom and had a long shower, feeling like the hot water helped to soothe a little of his nerves. And it definitely washed away the memories of the physical activities that had taken place last night - he just wished that he didn’t have to forget them. But Mark had made it very clear from the way he spoke and the look on his face that he wanted nothing to do with Ethan in that way anymore, and so Ethan would have to make himself ignore that it had ever happened. One thing he regretted, though, was not speaking up for himself in the moment. Instead, he’d frozen up, any helpful words he might have used to defend himself fleeing his mind. It was pathetic, really, how he’d just sat in Mark’s bed, naked, with tears all but spilling down his cheeks. He could only imagine what Mark must think of him now - especially now he knew that he was Ethan’s soulmate… the thought must have disgusted him. Otherwise why else would he have reacted so badly? He really needed to know what Mark had been thinking.

Once he was showered and dressed, Ethan had some cereal, clearing those kinds of thoughts from his mind. Spencer seemed to sense his mood because, after eating his own food, he laid at Ethan’s feet, watching him the whole time he sat at the breakfast bar. “Sorry, boy, today’s not a good day,” he murmured sadly, giving a small smile as he leaned down to ruffle his ears and give them a grateful scratch, “Daddy has to go talk work with Mark for a bit, okay?”

With that, he cleaned his bowl in the sink, then headed back up to where his phone was charging in his bedroom. He sat down on the bed and grabbed his phone, unlocking it and seeing that he had three missed calls from Mark as well as the text now too. He swallowed down the nerves that appeared at the sight of them, then opened his text:

‘Hey. I’m editing another Unus Annus video today so when it’s done I’ll send it over and you can let me know what you think.’

Okay, so that was a simple enough text. Clearly business as usual, in terms of work, no mention of last night or anything remotely personal. He supposed it would have to be this way for a while, until they figured out a way to forget last night and get back to some kind of normality. Well, it was never going to be exactly the same as it had been, that was for sure, but he still wanted Mark to be his friend. He’d give anything to keep him in his life. Typing out a simple reply, he took a deep breath before hitting send:

‘Hey. That’s great, can’t wait to see what you’ve done with it. It’s my turn to upload the new one today so I’ll give you a heads up when it’s done.’

Within no more than a minute of his reply sending, the phone began ringing and his heart stopped when he saw it was Mark. Why did he need to call him? Was he going to have a go at him for last night? No, surely not... That wasn’t the way that Mark’s brain worked. He was a (fairly mature) adult who liked communication. He wasn’t a shouty, arguing kind of person. Well, he clearly wanted to speak over the phone, so Ethan guessed he’d have to suck up his nerves and get it over with. He took a deep breath before tapping the screen and then holding the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

_ “Hi. Look, there’s no way to beat around the bush with this. We need to have a serious talk. I think you know that too.” _

Ethan swallowed, not having expected Mark to bring up last night this soon. He’d thought, maybe, that they’d stew for quite some time before one of them broke and then it’d be talked about. But, in reality, he knew that this was the better option - get everything out in the open before their relationship took too much damage to recover from.

_ “Ethan?” _

“Yeah? Oh! Sorry, yeah… We do. Need to talk, that is,” he cleared his throat, “When do you wanna…?”

_ “Can I come to you? Today?” _

“You wanna come here? Um… yeah, okay. Whenever is fine. I don’t need to be anywhere.”

_ “Good. See you later.” _

And just like that, the call cut off and Ethan was left sitting there reeling with the thought that Mark could turn up at his apartment any time today. He hated that they hadn’t set a specific time, it meant that he’d be on edge all day until Mark arrived - and probably whilst he was here too, come to think of it. Their conversation wasn’t going to be a fun one and he just wished that he’d stood his ground last night and spoken his mind, but… no, they were in this awkward situation now. But he definitely wanted to know what Mark was thinking. And so he stood and went about his day like he usually would, only with an added edge to his mood the whole time. He needed to get some laundry done, so he put in a load and also gave the bathroom a bit of a clean. At one point, he heard the front door knock and almost jumped out of his skin. He walked slowly to answer it, trying to think of everything he wanted to say to Mark, only to heave a sigh of relief when there was just a courier delivery guy on his doorstep.

“Hey, thanks so much,” he greeted them, signing the little machine he was handed, then grabbed his package from them. “Have a great day!” he called, only to look up from where he’d been about to close the door when he heard the delivery guy speak up.

“Sorry, sir, didn’t see you there. Good timing, huh?”

Ethan frowned in confusion, watching as he sidestepped out of the way of someone coming up the steps behind him. Only, his face went white and he felt his stomach drop when he saw who that someone was - Mark. He swallowed down the sudden lump in his throat, placing his package on the table just inside the door, then stepped aside to let Mark in.

“Hey,” he greeted quietly as Mark crossed the threshold, seeing his friend give him a nod of acknowledgement.

“Hey,” he said in return, turning to watch as Ethan closed the front door after giving the delivery guy one last wave of thanks, “You look like hell.”

“Gee thanks,” Ethan muttered sarcastically, sighing as he walked past Mark towards the kitchen, “Probably ‘cuz I didn’t sleep last night. You want coffee?”

There was silence for a few moments, the only sounds being their feet crossing his apartment flooring, until Mark responded, following behind him, “Uh, yeah sure. Thanks.”

Ethan only nodded in response as he set about making them both coffee, drumming his fingers on the edge of the counter top as he waited for the espresso to be ground and pour into the cups. Now that Mark was here, all of his words had disappeared to the nether regions of his mind, likely only to reappear when he needed them the least. Pouring the right amount of creamer and sugar into their coffees, Ethan slid Mark’s cup over the counter towards where he was leaning, looking out of the window. He only looked down when he heard the cup slide near him and he gave Ethan a small smile of thanks, picking it up and blowing on the piping hot drink.

Ethan lifted his own cup and cradled the warmth in his hands, keeping it close to his face so he could also inhale the comforting scent of coffee that he so enjoyed. But there was only so much comfort that he could have whilst Mark was stood in his kitchen with the silence dragging on and on between them. He couldn’t stand it.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” Mark suddenly said, soft and quiet like he was admitting a secret, and at his words Ethan could see the truth behind them - he had his glasses on instead of contact lenses, a sure fire sign that he was too tired to bother, and his hair looked as if he’d washed it and, well, not done anything else with it, “I… didn’t handle what happened last night very well, and for that I apologise.”

Ethan blinked in surprise, staring at Mark, his gaze skittering across all of the unique features of his face. Mark was apologising? Last night his stony gaze had all but accused  _ Ethan  _ of being the one in the wrong.

“Well,” he tried, unsure of what to say without rambling on and on about his feelings without making much sense, “I should apologise too, I guess. Maybe I shoulda spoken to you about how I felt before we went on a date…”

Mark gave a shrug, then busied himself with taking a sip of coffee, and then another. “Maybe it was a bad idea for me to ask you out on a date,” Ethan’s eyes widened and he felt his heart pound, not sure if he wanted to hear the next words which were surely going to be even more devastating, “I told myself that it was okay because neither of us had soulmates… or at least I thought we didn’t.” He glanced at Ethan with an unreadable expression in his eyes before continuing, “And if things went well, then I thought we could be happy together, ya know? Like, after thirty years of life, meeting thousands of people at conventions, I’ve clearly not got a soulmate, so it was okay in my head. We didn’t have to be soulmates to be happy together. Because… damnit, I’m  _ already _ happy, Ethan. I didn’t give a shit that you weren’t my soulmate, you made me happier than I ever thought I could be. And that’s all that mattered…”

Ethan could hear his heart thumping in his ears by now, and he was struggling to process everything that Mark’s words meant. There were so many parts of his reply that he needed to pick apart and digest, but Mark was staring out of the window with tears welling up in his eyes and Ethan had never been more confused.

“Then why were you so mad when I slipped up about the whole colour vision thing last night?” he questioned, lowering his cup so he could watch Mark for any signs that he was reading him wrong, “After everything you’ve just said, I thought you’d be happy…?”

Mark turned and stared at him, eyebrows drawn together and he gave Ethan a look like he was being stupid. It made him both want to back down but also ruffled his feathers a bit. He wasn’t stupid, Mark just wasn’t making any sense! “Why would I be  _ happy  _ that you’ve found your soulmate? It just means that you’re meant for someone else, and honestly it fucking  _ hurt _ that you went along with the date and…. everything else, when you knew all along that your happiness is with god knows whoever they are. I didn’t think you were the kind of person to do something like that, I thought I knew you, Ethan…”

It seemed like Mark was having a war with himself internally because his eyes were welling up but he looked like he wanted to be mad, not cry. Ethan could sympathise with that, he’d had plenty of situations where he reacted the same way. But right now, this wasn’t about him. This was about Mark being so god damn  _ stupid _ for ever thinking that his soulmate could be anyone other than him. And of course he knew him! Mark knew him better than he knew himself, could sometimes seem to read his mind when he didn’t even know what he was thinking himself. The only thing was… he wasn’t  _ Mark’s _ soulmate. He’d just said it himself, in all his thirty years of life having met so many people, he still didn’t have a soulmate. That meant it was just as likely that someone could come into Mark’s life and steal him away from Ethan. They could give him the gift of colour and everything he could ever want and more. Ethan couldn’t give him colour, as much as he wanted to - he wanted to be able to share the beauty of the world with Mark more than anything. And it hurt that he couldn’t. But he had to tell him the truth, he supposed, if only to ease the pain that Mark was feeling right now. He didn’t want him to think that he’d gone on a date and slept with him whilst knowing someone else was his soulmate. He had to put it right.

“It’s not someone else,” Ethan murmured, casting his gaze back down to his coffee as he lifted the cup to his lips and took a long sip. Once he’d taken a moment to savour the taste, he licked his lips and glanced sideways at Mark, “I went on the date with you because  _ you’re _ my soulmate. I  _ slept  _ with you because  _ you’re _ my soulmate, Mark. No one else.  _ You _ made me see colour, and I just wish I could do the same for you.”

He couldn’t help it, but the pain behind those words squeezed his heart and he rubbed at his eyes with his free hand when he felt tears prick at them. It was useless now for him to have any hope that they might have a future together - even if Mark wanted to give it another go now he knew he was Ethan’s soulmate, Ethan wouldn’t be able to let it go on. He didn’t want to hurt himself with false hope of a future when someone could easily come into Mark’s life and take him away. Because Mark wouldn’t be able to stop it - if and when he met his soulmate, regardless of how much he might try to resist for Ethan’s sake, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from being drawn to his soulmate, and then eventually fall for them, the way he was supposed to. Your soulmate was your soulmate for a reason.

It had been an awfully long bout of silence since he’d spilled his secret, and Ethan was getting nervous. He moved his hand away from his eyes and chanced a quick look at Mark - what he saw there had butterflies taking flight in the pit of his stomach. A small smile was on Mark’s lips and for the first time that day he looked almost happy. It was like a light had come on in his eyes, and if it wasn’t for the inevitable let down that Ethan would no doubt have to deliver soon, he would have joined in with the smiling. Mark took a step closer, setting his coffee back down on the counter top, “Please tell me you’re not just trying to make me feel better.”

“What? Mark, why would I lie about something like that? You  _ know _ me. I’m being completely honest,” Ethan rolled his eyes, “You want me to tell you the exact moment?” Without an answer, Ethan carried on, seemingly on a roll, “It’s weird because it didn’t happen when we first met. Like it does with  _ normal _ people. You know a few days ago, when I left your house and you gave me a hug and told me you were proud of me?” Mark’s smile had vanished amongst Ethan’s ranting but he nodded his acknowledgment that he knew what Ethan was talking about, “Well, it was then. Remember how I acted all weird and kinda ran off with no explanation? You thought I was stressed or anxious or whatever. Well, I _ was _ , but not for the reasons you thought. Took me a while to get used to being able to see colour, and it was a huge shock when it happened. I’ve known you for  _ years  _ so I was not expecting it. At all. Now,” he took another long sip of his coffee, “You happy?”

He was determined to keep his attention on his coffee, not wanting to look up at Mark and see any more hopeful looks in his eyes because it was tearing him apart to know that they shouldn’t try and take this further just in case Mark found his soulmate one day. Even though he wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and enjoy every day that he got with him. But logically he knew it would be better to break this off before he got seriously hurt. As he neared the bottom of his cup, Ethan finally set it down on the counter only to jump when he noticed Mark had closed the distance between them. How had he not even heard him move? Gulping, he slowly tilted his head up to see Mark watching him with tears in his eyes.

“Eth, I’m  _ so _ sorry for doubting you,” he muttered, and Ethan could see the genuine meaning in his face, and hear it in his tone of voice. He wanted to comfort Mark, stop him from crying, but he looked like he had something he needed to say and didn’t want to get in his way of that. “Last night I just… got so mad because I thought someone else was your soulmate. Not me. I was jealous because I knew it shoulda been me, not some other person that didn’t deserve you. And…” he sniffed and looked up, seeming to stare into the distance as he laughed at himself, “In reality, it was staring me right in the face…”

Ethan was more than a little confused, that was for sure. What had been staring Mark in the face? What point was he trying to make?

“Mark, you’re losin’ me here,” he said softly, not wanting to distract him from his train of thought but he clearly wanted to let Ethan know something and if Ethan wasn’t understanding then it was kind of going off the rails. He needed to get Mark back on track.

Clearing his throat, Mark closed his eyes and nodded, a small smile on his face, before he opened them again and if Ethan had ever seen a look that promised everything was going to be okay then the look Mark was giving him would be it. There was a softness about his eyes, and a warm smile upon his lips. Smile lines were crinkled around his eyes and mouth and Ethan loved them - it was evidence that Mark had been happy, and that was a good thing. Suddenly though, Mark was leaning down towards him, reaching a hand out towards his face, and Ethan heard his heart pounding in his ears again. He swallowed uncertainly, unable to do anything but stare back at him as he felt his hand press against and then cup his cheek. Eyes falling shut, Ethan let out a heavy sigh - it was a little unfair of Mark to do this, knowing how much it would be affecting Ethan, but he supposed that Mark was probably still under the illusion that they could carry on and give a romantic relationship another go. Ethan still had yet to deliver that blow… Though, he felt his entire world freeze when he felt Mark’s breath on his neck and heard his whispered words in his ear, only meant for him…

“Come on now, Eth, open up and let me see those gorgeous hazel eyes of yours again.”

With a start, Ethan’s eyes snapped open, and he turned his head slightly to stare at Mark from the close angle where he was still bent over from just having whispered in his ear. He tried with all his might to get the answers he needed just from Mark’s face but to no avail. All he knew was that he could hear the rushing of his blood pumping in his ears and that  _ surely _ this didn’t mean what he hoped it meant. He wasn’t ever that lucky, things like this never happened to him.

“What do you… Mark, you - can you see colour?”

The answering smile was enough to make Ethan’s head spin and he grabbed hold of Mark’s upper arm for purchase. He must be dreaming - he must have dozed off last night after all the emotional exhaustion and was dreaming up a happy ending, that was it. His grip on Mark’s arm must have alerted him to something being wrong because he shifted a little to get a good look at Ethan’s face.

“Eth? Ethan, you okay?”

With a deep breath, Ethan relaxed his hold on Mark’s arm and then exhaled slowly, focusing on his eyes to get him through it. He nodded once, then reached for one of Mark’s hands, threading their fingers together instantly - just like it had last night, it felt  _ right _ to do so.

“I just need you to tell me. I need to know, from your lips, the truth. Because if I’m reading this all wrong then I don’t think I could take it,” he muttered, before taking another deep breath.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Mark said softly, reaching his free hand up to ever so gently brush some hair away from Ethan’s eyes. He gave him a lopsided smile, pulled out a seat from the breakfast bar and encouraged Ethan into it. He gratefully sat down, not knowing how much longer he’d be able to keep standing if he was right about what Mark was implying.  _ Which _ , he reprimanded himself, was probably  _ not  _ the case. With a wary look on his face, Ethan watched as Mark also pulled out a seat and sat down in front of him, then joined their hands together once more.

“Ethan Mark Nestor,” Mark began quietly, the tone of his voice reminding Ethan of some of his favourite videos he liked to watch when he was anxious - the world’s quietest let’s play series, “You’ve been the best friend I could have ever hoped for these past few years and I never asked for anything else… and yet, in the past few  _ days _ you’ve given me quite possibly the best gift of all - the gift of colour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kay sooooo my plan is for another two chapters and I think that’ll round this all off nicely. At a push, maybe three? We’ll see! <3


	8. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am continuously blown away by how much love I'm receiving for this fic - over 150 kudos?! You guys are the best. <3   
> Now, this is the penultimate chapter so things are winding down - but it's not the end for our boys in their colour-filled world! I'm gonna be making this the first part in a series, and the next parts in the series will be some oneshots every now and then to dip in and out of their universe. How does that sound?  
> Anyway, enough babbling, and of course all respect to the boys and anyone else mentioned/to do with this fanfic, and off we go~!

Ethan was definitely dreaming - there was no way that, in the real world, Mark had just told him that he was his soulmate. And yet here he was, face buried in Mark’s shoulder, arms wrapped tight around his middle as he let silent tears flow from his eyes and replayed in his mind those soft, sweet words in the voice he adored;

_ “... you’ve given me quite possibly the best gift of all - the gift of colour.” _

They were the words he’d secretly wanted to hear for years, but in the last few days they’d been something of an unobtainable but overwhelming desire. No, more than a desire - a need. A need that would make or break him, depending on whether they were spoken or not. As Mark held him, rubbing a hand up and down his back whilst the other played with the hair at the nape of his neck, he began whispering softly into his ear.

“Everything is okay. I’ve got you. You are safe and you are protected. You’re at home with me and I’ll never let anything hurt you. For as long as I live. You are precious and incredible and I love that I get to have you in my life.”

With that, he pressed a lingering kiss to the side of Ethan’s head, eyes closed briefly, before pulling away and he felt Mark gently maneuvering him so he could get a good look at his face. He gently sat him back down on his chair but made sure to keep a firm hold on his hands and for that Ethan was grateful. He needed all of the contact and reassurance he could get right now - most of him was still so uncertain and untrusting that such a good thing could happen to him. After letting Mark grab a tissue and dab away some of the tears on his face, Ethan looked up at him, chewing his bottom lip as he admired his beautiful face.

“I never thought this would happen,” he admitted, swallowing before rubbing one of his eyes, “I thought that you didn’t return the bond, ya know?”

Mark nodded and offered Ethan an understanding smile, “I get it. I mean, I guess I  _ was  _ kinda stupid asking you on a date when I knew, well,  _ thought _ I knew that you didn’t have a soulmate. It was reckless. Someone coulda come along and whisked you away at any point, regardless of how I felt.” Shrugging, he then gave Ethan’s hands a gentle squeeze, “But that doesn’t matter now, does it?”

Ethan felt his heart flutter when he saw Mark’s smile morph into a grin, and he couldn’t help but duck his head as a smile spread across his own face, “Nope. Not anymore.”

“And why’s that, Eth?”

He didn’t have to look up to know that Mark was still grinning whilst he playfully taunted Ethan to say what they were both thinking. Rolling his eyes, he then looked back up and tipped his head to one side, adopting his own playful demeanour that was always accelerated by Mark’s presence.

“Because me and you are  _ meant _ for each other, Papa Bear!” he cooed in a baby voice, sticking his tongue out between his teeth. As he did so, Mark smirked in amusement, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. Even though his face was pretty stoic except for the smirk, Ethan  _ definitely _ saw his gaze zone in on his tongue. Oh, this sort of thing was going to be  _ so _ much fun to explore now he knew that he could. And that’s when it dawned on him - Mark was his and he was Mark’s. Just like he’d said, but more seriously now, they were  _ meant _ for each other. That meant no one else was going to come and take Mark away from him, and they could have their whole lives to explore the world and each other… together.

“Hey Eth? Think it’s time to come back to Earth,” came Mark’s amused voice opposite him.

He blinked and focused back on Mark, seeing that he was  _ still _ just smirking at him - though it was by far much better to have that than the blank voice and expression from last night. Now, they never had to go through that again - not only were they both each other’s soulmates (it was going to take him a long time to get used to saying that) but they were going to have to improve their communication with each other. He couldn’t help but reprimand himself even more for not speaking up last night since that would have saved them both a lot of heartache, but now was not the time for looking back. Not when there was so much ahead of them.

“Sorry,” he finally apologised, face easing into a genuine smile, and he saw Mark’s mirror his own, “It just keeps hitting me. I’m your  _ soulmate.  _ It’s crazy.”

Mark nodded and kept watching him, his gaze skittering across Ethan’s face which had him blushing - every little thing Mark did now had so much more weight to it now that they both knew they were each other’s soulmates.

“And I’m yours,” came his reply, tipping his head to one side as he considered something, “Though, I  _ do _ know that this doesn’t mean I have instant permission to say or do what I want with you. Regardless of the bond we share, I want to do right by you and take my time, learn you more intimately and show you just how much I care for you. And how important you are. We’re still barely past the friends stage, despite what happened last night - which I still treasure, by the way, even though it didn’t end the way I’d have liked.”

Ethan’s face was becoming a hell of a lot warmer as he listened to Mark, and he watched the sincere affection glisten in his eyes as he spoke. He agreed with everything he’d said - yeah, they’d gone on a date and had sex, yeah they were soulmates, but that didn’t mean that they would automatically change their relationship status on Facebook from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship’. If they used Facebook, that was. Which they didn’t. Their relationship was still going to progress and bloom naturally with time - up until yesterday, they’d been rather cemented in the platonic realm with each other, and their date last night was only the first step towards a future of romance and soul-sharing. But Ethan couldn’t wait to experience it all with Mark at his side, hand in hand.

“I liked it too,” he admitted, a coy smile pulling at one corner of his mouth, “But it doesn’t have to be tainted - there’ll be other times.  _ Better  _ times.”

“Is that a promise?”

Ethan watched as Mark’s eyes glittered playfully and he couldn’t help but bite his bottom lip, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to spread across his face.

“I mean, if there aren’t other times then our future together is gonna be pretty boring, dude,” Ethan retorted, sticking his tongue out - which led to Mark tipping his head back and letting out a guffaw of a laugh.

“Wow, Eth, you’re sounding  _ pretty _ shallow right about now,” he teased once he’d calmed down from laughing, wiping one of his eyes under his glasses with the back of his hand.

Nonchalantly, Ethan gave a shrug and stood from his chair, “I like sex. And I know you do too. We’d both be pretty miserable if we never had sex again, right?” He cleared their cups away into the sink, then pushed his seat back under the breakfast bar.

“You got me there,” Mark chuckled, rubbing his shoulder before letting out a yawn, “Geez, remind me to not be so pig-headed and silent the next time I get upset, will ya? Don’t wanna sleep that badly again.”

“Hopefully there won’t be anything so upsetting for you to lose sleep over now that we’re out in the open,” Ethan said softly, coming to stand in between Mark’s legs where he was still sat down, and he took both of his hands in his own, “I’m gonna try and be better at talking. Last night I coulda spoken up for myself and we wouldn’t both be so sleep-deprived.”

Mark gave a heart-melting smile, then let go of Ethan’s hands only to wrap his arms around his middle, pressing his face into Ethan’s chest. He inhaled deeply, then let out a long breath, “And I won’t be so presumptuous all the time. If I ever get upset, I’ll just ask you about whatever’s upsetting me. Or, I’ll try to at least. I guess we’ll have a few arguments down the line at some point, but I never want to make you look like you did when you walked down my stairs before I drove you home last night…”

Ethan felt his heart lurch as he remembered exactly how he had felt in that moment - humiliated because he couldn’t stop crying and Mark could barely look at him, devastated that that had probably been the only time he would ever be with Mark in such a way, and desperately wanting to make him see the truth but frustratedly not having the words to do so. 

“I don’t ever wanna  _ feel  _ like that again,” Ethan retorted, giving a wry smile before leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Mark’s head, “But we were both idiots last night. We’ve learned from that mistake, right?”

“Right,” came Mark’s muffled reply where he continued to nuzzle into Ethan’s chest, hands clenching and unclenching in the material around the back of his shirt. Ethan softly chuckled to himself at the thought that Chica definitely got her overly-affectionate nature from her papa, despite his constant protesting that he wasn’t  _ that _ much of a cuddly bear. Ethan knew different.

Somewhat indulgently, he buried a hand in Mark’s hair, enjoying the soft locks brushing through the gaps between his fingers as he combed his hand through it. Mark seemed to be content letting Ethan do so because he sighed into his chest and he felt the tension in his body sag a little. If he could do this for the rest of his life, he would be over the moon - just making Mark a little happier and relaxed after a rough day made his heart soar. God, he was already in so deep, he had to try and not get too ahead of himself as their relationship gradually developed. Though he guessed that Mark wouldn’t protest too much if he was a little over the top in his emotions and affection every so often. It suddenly occurred to him that his rhythmic attention to Mark’s hair was making the older man drowsy. He could hear his breathing evening out and could feel his grip on his back loosening. Well, there was no way he was going to be sending him back to his house in this state - besides, he wouldn’t mind some sleep himself.

“Mark?” he said, voice low and soft, “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

“Mm’kay,” was his slurred response, and Ethan smiled at how cute he was when he was so sleepy, but knew he had to concentrate to get Mark upstairs and into bed. He thought maybe he would’ve put up a fight, only because he knew how much of a workaholic Mark was, but apparently his sleep-deprived mind was smart too and knew that trying to edit videos in this state was a mistake. And so, Ethan moved his hands under Mark’s arms and carefully encouraged him up out of the seat. It didn’t take much for Mark to get the hint, his brain seemingly having enough energy left to recognise that Ethan couldn’t get him to bed if he was a deadweight in his arms - so, he stood of his own accord, albeit slowly, and then dropped his head onto Ethan’s shoulder. “You comin’ too?”

Ethan smiled even more, heart fluttering in response to Mark’s question - he wanted them to sleep next to each other? Well, they might as well… Ethan was tired, and they could both use the close physical comfort of each other after the nightmare they’d endured the night before. “Sure,” he said quietly, not wanting to rouse Mark from his pre-sleep mood, “We both need it, I think.” It would also be a good idea so that Ethan could stop him from getting up too early in case he woke up and his workaholic brain took charge again. With that, he slid an arm around Mark’s waist and slowly they made their way up the stairs and to Ethan’s bedroom, Mark never once lifting his head from his shoulder except when he had to take off his shirt. Ethan pulled back his duvet and took off his jogging bottoms, glancing at Mark to watch him struggle with the buttons on his jeans.

“Here, it’s okay, I got it,” he said with an amused smile, catching Mark’s gaze as he easily worked the buttons out of their holes and even unzipped him, knowing sleep was beginning to cloud Mark’s brain now that a bed was within falling-into distance.

“You just wanted to get me undressed,” Mark accused, pointing a finger at him lazily as he shucked his jeans and finally crawled into the welcoming bed before them.

“I gotta take what I can get, Markimoo,” Ethan laughed in reply, though as he was about to pull off his own shirt he realised Mark was almost out for the count with his head pressed into Ethan’s pillow. He cut off his laughter and silently pulled off his shirt, then got into bed next to Mark, pulling the covers up over them both. Despite him thinking he was already on the way to the land of nod, he felt warm, firm arms snake their way around his middle and Ethan smiled to himself. He shifted onto his side to face Mark, getting as close to him as he could without being uncomfortable. There was a slight upturned quirk to the corner of his friend’s mouth despite his eyes being closed, and Ethan nudged their noses together, “My phone’s alarm will go off when I need to upload the newest Unus Annus video but until then, you do not leave this bed. Got it?”

The smile on Mark’s lips widened and he cracked his eyes open just a sliver, watching Ethan from the close angle, “That’s just a ploy to keep me in your bed in nothing but my shorts. Typical.”

Ethan snorted out a laugh before he instinctively leaned in and kissed him chastely. Mark’s eyes fluttered open wider and he chased Ethan for more as he pulled back, pressing their lips together again. They kissed for a few more seconds before Ethan deliberately pulled away and then kissed Mark on the tip of his nose, “Enough of that for now. Sleep. We have plenty of time for kisses later.”

He chuckled as he listened to Mark grumble, who closed his eyes once more, then shuffled in to slot his head in the crook of Ethan’s neck, “Spoilsport.” Though his following yawn was proof that Ethan was right and sleep was much more of a priority right now.

Ethan slid his arms around Mark and let his hands settle, one on his lower back and the other on a shoulder blade, before he closed his own eyes and nosed in to kiss Mark’s cheek, “Sleep tight, Papa Bear.”

“Don’t dream of me too much,” came his friend’s teasing response, the words a little sluggish as sleep once more beckoned to him to follow to the land of Zs. Ethan smiled to himself, inhaling long and deep before allowing his body to relax and succumb to the same urge as Mark’s.

~~~

The loud, jarring sound of a duck quacking from his bedside table had Ethan jolting abruptly out of sleep. He scrambled for his phone whilst Mark grunted, disoriented, behind him, “Th’fuck?”

Once the alarm was silenced, Ethan flopped back down next to Mark and began tapping away at his phone, “Sorry, babe, forgot I set that as the alarm sound.” He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at what must have gone through Mark’s brain at being woken up to the sound of a duck quacking.

“Did you just call me babe? And you weren’t joking around?” Mark mumbled, shuffling close and slinging an arm over Ethan’s middle. He rested his chin on his shoulder, content to nonchalantly watch him go about uploading today’s Unus Annus video.

Ethan paused, glancing at Mark out of the corner of his eye, “...Maybe. Sorry?” It was weird how it had just kind of slipped out without him even thinking about it. He’d called Mark ‘babe’ loads of times before, but it had always been jokingly, like during a video, and not in passing seriousness like now.

“Don’t be. Do it again?” Mark pressed a kiss to Ethan’s neck, shimmying a little closer to plaster himself against Ethan’s side.

Ethan quirked an eyebrow up in curiosity at Mark’s reaction, then turned his head and looked at him face on, “You like it...” A sly grin spread across his face and he leaned in to press a drawn out kiss to Mark’s lips before pulling back way too soon for both their liking, “Don’t worry, babe, I’d do anything to make you happy.” He watched Mark’s cheeks pleasantly tint pink before turning back to the task at hand - just the usual description for the Unus Annus videos and the title, then  _ boom _ it was out in the world for everyone to watch. Until the channel was deleted after its time was up, of course. Mark had been keeping tabs on the uploading progress, apparently, because as soon as it was done, he took Ethan’s phone from his hand and chucked it down to the end of the bed. Ethan looked at him with a frown, about to protest about the manhandling of his phone, only to have warm, pliant lips pressed against his own. Instantly he softened and he watched Mark’s eyes glint with amusement before both their eyes fluttered shut and one of his hands came up to cup Mark’s jaw. With a hum of approval, Mark shuffled and squirmed - rather inelegantly, Ethan would remark in satisfaction after the event - until he’d rolled on top of him. All the while, the kiss carried on, warm and soft, like how it felt when you knew you could lay in, snuggled in your duvet, at the weekends knowing you didn’t have school that day. It was everything Ethan needed and more. He enjoyed the weight of Mark on top of him, loved the feeling of his jaw beneath one hand and his hip in the other. It was something that he couldn’t wait to get used to, but also never wanted to get used to it because he wanted this honeymoon feeling to last forever. They both seemed more than happy to carry on until the end of the world was upon them, but someone else had other ideas - in the background, Ethan heard scratching and a quiet whining at his door. He felt his heart tug, not wanting Spencer to feel left out or alone, so he broke apart from Mark with an apologetic smile and a kiss to his nose. Mark chuckled, rolling his eyes fondly, before he shimmied off of Ethan, maneuvering himself to sit up against the headboard. Ethan grinned, then crawled off the bed and moved to open the door, which had Spencer sprinting into the room and instantly bounding up onto the bed.

“Hey Spence!” Ethan called with a giggle, watching as his dog proceeded to lick at Mark’s face and fuss over him, and honestly? He couldn’t blame him one little bit - he’d all but been doing the same thing to Mark just moments ago. Mark was indulging Spencer though, scratching at his ears and ruffling his hand through his fur all over. The dog probably loved Mark more than he loved Ethan, from the way that he promptly flopped over onto his back and had Mark rubbing his belly.  _ Attention stealer _ , Ethan thought to himself, though really it made sense for Spencer to be like this around Mark because Ethan probably projected a lot of his own feelings about the guy onto his dog. Happy to let them continue showering each other with affection, Ethan moved to grab his jogging bottoms and tug them back on over his hips again. Mark made a weird noise from the bed and Ethan looked over to peer curiously at him to see what had been the cause of said weird noise. He was greeted with Mark watching him, bottom lip turned down in a pout.

“What?” Ethan asked, laughing as he walked back over to the bed.

“You put clothes on,” Mark complained, leaning down and kissing the top of Spencer’s head before stage-whispering and cooing to the dog, “That’s no fun, is it Spencer? No. Papa likes seeing daddy naked. Yes he does.”

Ethan began giggling again, then leaned down and dropped a kiss to the top of Mark’s head, “And daddy likes seeing papa naked too but papa needs dinner and then should probably go make sure Chica’s not feeling too lonely, hmm?” He moved away again to pull on his shirt too, hearing Mark make a groan of protest as he did so. Ethan loved that he was being ogled and another day he’d probably allow it to escalate but right now they really did need some food and Chica needed her papa back.

Mark huffed petulantly, swinging his legs out of the bed now that Spencer had calmed down and was content to lay watching them in bed. He stood and pulled on his jeans and shirt, then put his glasses back on, and grabbed Ethan’s hand. “You’re right, I suppose,” he muttered, squeezing before he tugged Ethan out of the door and down to the kitchen. “You sit yourself down and just look pretty, I’m making dinner tonight.” Ethan was going to protest, only Mark pressed a finger to his lips, “None of that. You made us food last time so I’m returning the favour.”

Ethan rolled his eyes with a smile, pulling out a seat at the breakfast bar and sitting down, “Okay, okay. You know I’m gonna annoy the fuck outta you whilst you work though.”

“Wouldn’t have if any other way,” Mark replied, shooting a smirk over his shoulder before going back to rummage in the fridge for ingredients.

Within half an hour, there were two steaming bowls of pasta set out at the dining table and Ethan licked his lips in appreciation as he sat down to eat. He admired the green colour of the sauce that Mark had created, as well as the sprinkling of cheese on top in a kind of creamy yellow. When Mark sat down next to him, Ethan nudged their shoulders together, “This looks and smells so  _ good _ . What sauce did you make?”

“Pesto,” Mark answered, handing him a fork and grinning, “Go ahead and try it. I’ve not made it without the pine nuts before so I hope it’s as good as I’d like it to be.”

Ethan smiled, eagerly spearing some pasta and popping it into his mouth. As he chewed, he made a noise of appreciation and then gave Mark a thumbs up once he’d swallowed, “Dude, that’s  _ so _ fucking good. You just knew that off the top of your head?”

Mark nodded and began eating too, “It’s a really easy pasta dish so I’ve made it a lot before.”

“I can tell because it’s amazing,” Ethan mumbled between mouthfuls. He swallowed again, then wiped his mouth and leaned over to kiss Mark’s cheek, “Thanks, babe.”

Mark laughed and shook his head, shooting him a side-eyed Look, “You’re welcome,  _ gorgeous _ .”

Ethan’s face instantly heated up and he swatted Mark’s shoulder gently, “Don’t start that or it’s gonna become a competition!”

“I can’t help it, you  _ are  _ gorgeous,” Mark protested, grinning as he had another mouthful of pasta.

Ethan glared and shook his head, but was unable to come up with a smart comeback so he settled with eating more pasta. Mark simply laughed at his inability to speak, and they both fell into a comfortable silence whilst they ate. When they were finished, Ethan got up to take the bowls to the sink and Mark stood and followed him, nudging him out of the way of the sink with his hip, “No arguing. You cooked  _ and _ washed up last time so I’m repaying the favour.”

Ethan simply rolled his eyes with a smile and compromised by drying as Mark washed, both of them settling into quiet conversation to help pass the time. It seemed that they were both reluctant to finish their jobs since they slowed down and took far too long washing and drying up in comparison to what would be considered a reasonable time. Ethan chalked it up to the fact that neither of them wanted to part with the other, but really they both knew it was for the best that they try and get back to some sort of normalcy - only then would their relationship be able to progress naturally. When the draining board was finally clear, they both washed their hands and Ethan moved to lean against the counter, watching Mark silently. Mark turned towards him and gave a wry smile, “As much as I don’t want to… I should go. Chica needs dinner, plus I didn’t walk her this morning so…”

“I get it,” Ethan nodded, stepping closer to him and pulling him into a tight hug. They held each other as he continued speaking, “Go home, tell Chica I said hi and give her a kiss from me, then get some more sleep. And tomorrow, we can both refresh and start the first proper day of… us… Yeah?”

Mark pulled his head back a little to look at Ethan close up, and his gaze washed over his face, “That was… one of the most sensible things you’ve ever said.”

“Psh, and that’s the last time I try to be smart,” Ethan rolled his eyes, pulling away from the hug only to have Mark reel him right back in again.

“Wait a second, Eth, I was being serious - I like it, you know... when you show just how smart you actually are. Because I  _ know _ that you’re smart, but it’s good to see it manifest in the world every so often.” He had a genuine smile on his lips, brightening up his entire face, and Ethan felt his stomach plummet - god, how had he gotten so lucky?

“Thanks, Mark. Really,” he gave a smile in return and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Now, you really should get going.”

Reluctantly they pulled apart and Mark nodded his agreement, so they walked hand in hand to the front door which Ethan opened and Mark moved out onto the doorstep. Ethan joined him, closing the door behind him so that Spencer wouldn’t get out. As they faced each other, with the sky beginning to blur purple and pink behind them, Mark grinned suddenly, “So, when can I see you again?”

Ethan giggled, dropping his head to look at their feet, before his head was tipped back up, Mark’s finger on his chin. He gazed into his deep brown eyes and his heart melted at the softness he saw there, “You can see me anytime you want, babe.” Mark grinned and leaned in to kiss him for a few moments, then they parted and Ethan squeezed his hand, “Seriously though, you’ll hear from me tomorrow at the least. I doubt I’d be able to keep away from you for too long.”

Mark laughed and stepped back, reluctantly letting go of Ethan’s hand, “If I don’t hear from you by midday tomorrow I’m coming back.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Ethan grinned, crossing his arms over his chest, one hand coming to rest at his mouth to try and hide his smile.

Mark got to the top of the stairs and grabbed the handrail, shooting a finger gun at him and winking, “I’ll speak to you later, gorgeous.” He gave a wave, to which Ethan waved at him in return, and then Mark was making his way down the stairs. Ethan’s heart clenched each step he got further away, even though he knew that they wouldn’t be separate for too long. He saw Mark reach his car and he blew him a kiss, grinning as he did so, and Ethan caught it, laughing and shaking his head. And then he was gone, in the car, driving off down the road making his way to his house. Ethan cast his gaze to the dark purple sky above him, a smile spreading across his face at just how beautiful it was, before he turned and headed back into his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot about Spencer being at Mika's place for the night so let's pretend that she dropped him off early in the morning sometime...  
> Also, I'm aware that they probably schedule their videos for release and definitely don't do it on their phones but it fit better for the story this way, so in this universe they do it how I please~  
> One chapter left folks, I'll try not to leave it too long but until then, I'll see you in the comments!


	9. Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter but I wanted to do it right and it's a long one - if there are any mistakes I'm super sorry, I was trying to get this out as fast as I could!  
> The last chapter is here, but do not fear - updates are in the notes at the end of the chapter~  
> Whilst writing, I listened to Lover, Please Stay by Nothing But Thieves which is beautiful! And also, at a certain point (you'll know it when it comes), the song is When Can I See You Again? by Owl City. Listen along if you like!  
> Again, this is pure fiction, a completely different universe, and the boys are real and in real relationships so please respect them all!  
> With that, I hope you enjoy <3

“You ready?”

Mark watched Ethan reach the bottom of the steps which descended from the door to his apartment. The younger man grinned at him and nodded, lugging the suitcase in his hands into the boot of Mark’s car, “Hell yeah!”

With a fond smile, Mark kissed Ethan’s cheek before shutting the boot and they both piled into the front seats. It’d been about a week since they both found out they were each other’s soulmates and had subsequently decided that they both needed a break away from real life to have some breathing space somewhere that was not LA. Now, don’t get Mark wrong, he wasn’t a pushover when it came to compromising with Ethan about certain decisions - however, it  _ was  _ hard to say no when he looked at him with those beautiful eyes and pleaded without words. But he’d tried his best to come to an agreement with Ethan about where they’d go for their little vacation, only to end up giving in to him anyway. Mark had wanted a road trip - just the two of them in his car, out on the open road, the scenery of unfamiliar towns and cities passing them by. Ethan had wanted Disneyland. Mark argued that Disneyland wasn’t really a break away, just the two of them, and so they could wait to go to Disneyland together some other time. Ethan argued back that Disneyland was the most magical place on Earth and that no one would even notice them amongst all of the other thousands of people at the parks whilst they were there. The disagreement had lasted all but a day, at most. Until Ethan pointed out that Disneyland was in Florida so they’d have to do a mini-road trip to get there anyway - that way they’d both be happy, he argued, using his version of logic. Though Mark held himself back from mentioning that the 3 days they’d be spending at Disneyland was a hell of a lot longer than the trip there and back - most of the journeys would be spent on the aeroplane anyway! Driving to and from the airport hardly counted as a road trip… But he couldn’t resist when Ethan peppered him with kisses to influence him to agree to his wish.

And so, here they were, on the road with the radio playing and the wind rushing through the windows of his car. It was a beautiful day, and Ethan’s skin was glowing under the rays of the sunshine high in the azure blue of the sky above them. It was remarkable to see such stunning sights now that he wasn’t colourblind - and he knew that the sky was one of Ethan’s favourite things to look at now that he too could admire the colours of the world. He’d not noticed in the few days before they had that all important reveal about their soulmates, but now he knew, he noticed that Ethan spent a lot of time looking at the sky. It could be just a glance every now and then, or it could be him getting distracted when they were trying to film and he’d be gazing out of the window at the melting purple of a sunset sky. Whenever it happened, Mark found it adorable, regardless of whether they were trying to work at the time or not. He was just glad that he got to know something that Ethan admired - it opened up a whole new realm about the boy that he’d not got to see before. For him, whilst he did understand the appreciation of the ever-shifting shades of the sky above, he was more interested in the components of their universe beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. In a way, it was similar to Ethan’s appreciation, since they both had to look up to see the sights they loved so much. But Mark’s was far more unattainable and un-Earthly. Before, being colourblind, seeing space was something of an almost bland experience since everything was just black and white. Now though, he could find photos online of nebulas and galaxies made up of a vast array of colours which he never would have even thought were possible. If only he could see those things with his own eyes… It was still lovely to look up at night and see the various constellations, as well as the moon and occasionally Venus, but his biggest desire was to get a closer look at all of those unreachable objects in the vast planes of space.

“So, Mark, I wanna go on as many rides as I can,” Ethan’s voice suddenly cut into his thoughts, and he glanced over at his friend (more-than-friend but there wasn’t really a suitable term for their relationship at this precise moment) before turning his gaze back to the road.

“Yeah, I kinda guessed,” Mark chuckled, flicking the indicator before sliding over into a different lane on the highway, “Well we’re gonna have to be very efficient and organised about our time in the parks then. Plan it out tonight at the hotel whilst we gorge on room service, whaddya think?”

“You read my mind, Papa Bear,” Ethan giggled, and Mark’s heart fluttered at the sound - there were so many things he loved about him, and his laugh was one of the favourites. “I already know what I’m ordering tonight.”

“How do you know they’ll have what you want?” Mark shot back, gaze flickering briefly towards him and back again.

“Mark, everywhere does pizza,” Ethan giggled again, and Mark had to give him that, nodding his agreement, “The cheesier the better!”

The conversation between them easily drifted from room service to the plans for the next few days, and it helped to pass the time until they parked in the secured airport car park where Mark’s car would be spending its time whilst they cavorted around Disneyland. They unloaded their fairly light luggage from the car, then made their way into the airport to check in and go through the security processes. When they eventually got themselves some seats in the departure lounge, he stretched his arms above his head and let out a yawn. Only an hour to wait, which was not too bad considering he’d certainly had to wait a hell of a lot longer for other flights before. He saw Ethan look at him out of the corner of his eyes and turned his head to see him smiling sweetly, and he cocked his head to one side, “You okay, gorgeous?” What had started out as a joke last week had turned into a recurring thing for the both of them in the form of pet names. It just came naturally now, and it seemed they both quite liked the pet names they’d bestowed upon each other.

“I just  _ really _ wanted to kiss you just now,” Ethan shot a bittersweet smile at him and Mark made a sad face, then reached a hand out to rub his shoulder.

“It won’t be too long until we get to the hotel and then you can kiss me all you want,” he tried to reassure him, though he felt the disappointment in not being able to just  _ do it  _ too. They hadn’t had too in depth of a discussion about the whole PDA thing but they both knew that, since even they didn’t know what point their relationship was at yet, it wouldn’t be a great idea to flounce about in public holding hands and kissing just in case one of their followers saw them. They’d even have to be careful around Disneyland too, you never knew when someone might be in the right place at the right time - or should it be the  _ wrong  _ place at the  _ wrong  _ time - and spot them acting a little more than friendly towards each other. Mark could only imagine the media frenzy that would ensue and,  _ God,  _ his manager would never let him hear the end of it.

“Amongst  _ other _ things I’d like to do to you,” Ethan grinned widely, wiggling his eyebrows in an overly-suggestive manner.

Snorting, Mark nudged their shoulders together, “Yeah, yeah, Romeo, hold your horses, will ya? I don’t feel like joining the mile high club, just sayin’.”

“Ew, gross, Mark! Those airplane toilets are icky,” Ethan full on shuddered before making a fake gagging noise. Mark couldn’t help but burst out laughing, his head thrown back as he did so. Ethan gently pushed his shoulder and whined, “I’m being serious! They may look clean on the surface but you never know  _ what lurks underneath _ …” That only set Mark off even more, and he clutched at his sides as he doubled over with laughter now. 

When he eventually sat up, wiping tears from his eyes, he had to bite back even more giggles - Ethan was sat pouting, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at him. “Aww, gorgeous, what’s wrong?” he asked genuinely, but the effect was somewhat dampened by the grin threatening to spill from his lips. “C’mon, none of that pouty face, we’ll be in Disneyland before you know it.”

“Not ‘til tomorrow,” Ethan grumbled, sticking his bottom lip out even further and sliding down even more in his seat. Mark was really fighting hard not to collapse about laughing again, but Ethan just looked like a spoilt teenager, passive aggressive when they didn’t get what they wanted.

“I know, but it’ll be worth the wait once we’re there,” Mark genuinely tried to reassure him, tickling underneath his chin to try and make him laugh. He easily succeeded, and Ethan giggled, squirming away from his touch. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

However, before Ethan could respond, the tannoy rang out above them and an announcement was heard:  _ ‘Attention, attention. Flight FL07984 has been delayed by three hours. We apologise for any inconvenience. For more information, please speak to a member of our boarding staff.’ _

At the realisation that it was their flight which had been delayed even more, Ethan groaned and slumped down further in his seat - by this point, he may as well have been completely horizontal. “I can’t believe it! How does one plane get delayed so much?!”

Mark sighed, giving a little shrug, “I don’t know, Eth… Look, I’m sure it’ll go faster than you think. We can play on the switch for a bit, pass the time that way. Yeah?”

Ethan seemed to contemplate the idea before nodding and sitting back up, pulling the switch out of their carry on bag. Mark shifted closer to him and had to resist the urge to slip his arm around his shoulders, his logical brain reminding him that anyone could be watching them in such a large public space. He watched as Ethan turned the device on before plugging in earphones and offering one to Mark, which he took with a smile - this time resisting the urge to press a kiss to his cheek. And for a while, they both sat there, pretty content, whilst Ethan played Animal Crossing. Mark was amused watching Ethan play this since he didn’t really play it himself, but it was interesting to watch the different mechanics of the game. They stayed like that for maybe an hour until another announcement was heard over the tannoy:  _ ‘Attention, attention. Flight FL07984 has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience. Please see our boarding staff for assistance.’ _

They’d both heard the announcement apparently because Ethan looked over at him with fear in his eyes, “Cancelled? It can’t be! We have to get to Disneyland…”

Mark couldn't stand the sadness welling up in Ethan’s eyes and knew in that moment he would do anything to stop him from being sad. He pulled out the earphone he was wearing and stood with a sense of purpose, placing a hand on Ethan’s shoulder for a moment, “I’m going to sort this. I’ll be back.”

And with that, he walked off to the boarding help desk and had a few, calm words with the staff there. He glanced back at Ethan every so often, seeing him watching him right back every single time - there was a hint of hope in his gaze, obviously thinking Mark could fix everything. It warmed his heart to think that Ethan had that much faith in him to be able to fix his problems. Well, for him, he wanted the world to be perfect. So he’d do whatever was in his power to make that happen. After half an hour or so of scouring other flights for seats, they managed to find two together on a flight that was due to board in twenty minutes. Somehow this worked out better than their original flight, if it hadn’t been cancelled. Thanking the staff there graciously for their help, he rushed back to Ethan, grinning as he neared him. “Guess who got us seats on a flight that’s boarding in twenty minutes?”

Ethan’s eyes popped, staring up at Mark in disbelief, “But how?”

Mark shrugged, then pretended to straighten up an invisible tie at his neck, “Oh, you know, the good ol’ Markiplier charm.”

Snorting, Ethan stood and swatted Mark’s shoulder, “Bullshit. It was the staff who did all the work anyways, not you. However…” He offered him a beaming smile, his hazel eyes glimmering with joy, “I  _ am _ super grateful to you for going to get it sorted. That kinda stuff really… well, I’m not the best with confrontations.”

Mark nodded and he reached out to give Ethan a quick hug, subtly kissing the side of his neck swiftly so no one would notice. When he pulled away, there was a hint of pink in Ethan’s cheeks and he grinned proudly, “Don’t worry about it, gorgeous. I get it. Now, let’s head to our gate. Don’t wanna miss this one because I don’t think the staff would be so eager to help in that case.”

Ethan nodded his agreement, packing the switch back up into their carry on bag before they made their way to the gate for their new flight. This time, they boarded the plane without incident and found their seats, getting comfy for the journey. When they’d taken off and were in the air, they both just chatted quietly for a while, Mark wanting to take Ethan’s mind off the fact that they were in the air. He knew that he wasn’t the biggest fan of flying, but he’d do it if needed. When one of the attendants came around with refreshments, he asked for a bottle of coke whilst Ethan opted for green tea. When he gave him a questioning look at his choice of beverage, Ethan gave a small, almost sheepish smile, “Supposed to help ease anxiety. I’ve been giving it a go recently.”

Mark nodded his understanding and gently squeezed his hand between them, “I’ve heard certain teas can be good for your body in different ways so that would make sense. As well as all of the working out you’ve been doing, and your meds, I think you’ve got a great regime going to help your mind relax.”

Ethan smiled and he shifted to rest his head on Mark’s shoulder, “Thanks, babe.” When Mark chuckled, he heard Ethan laugh too, and the sound lit up his heart like the fourth of July. God, he was falling hard so quick, it would have been alarming if he hadn’t known Ethan for years. He supposed it only made sense for him to fall in love with the guy that had always been his soulmate, even when he hadn’t known, and that he’d grown to adore over such a long period of time. Gently he rested his head atop Ethan’s in turn, and they both ended up napping for a while, until Ethan had to get up to go pee.

Mark wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he passed in front of him, grinning when he saw Ethan’s curious look. He leaned up to whisper, “Sure you don’t want me to follow you in five minutes?”

With a swat to his arm, Ethan made a face and pretended to gag, then shivered all over, “No! In the nicest way, please don’t.” With that, he was scurrying off to the toilet trying to look as innocent as possible just in case anyone had overheard their conversation. Mark shook his head to himself with an amused smile, then pulled out his phone to check his emails - good thing he’d paid extra to use the plane’s wifi so he could be aware of anything that needed his urgent attention. As he was scrolling through his mailbox, however, the connection suddenly cut out all before the cabin was thrown into darkness. His head whipped up and his first thought was Ethan - he was bound to be freaking out in the toilet in the pitch black, miles up in the sky, that was for sure. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he sprung to his feet and rushed to the toilet door where he called through, “Eth? You okay? I’m right here.”

Just then the airplane seemed to jolt and he grabbed onto the door frame for purchase, having lost his balance for a moment. From inside the toilet he heard a shriek of horror, obviously from Ethan having experienced the turbulence too, and the door opened suddenly to reveal a wide-eyed Ethan staring at him in alarm. “What’s happening?” he asked in a hushed voice, instinctively grabbing onto Mark’s upper arms for comfort and security.

Mark could feel him quivering with fear so he wrapped an arm around him and began walking him back to their seats, with the sound of the attendants calling out for everyone to do the same in the background. “It’s just turbulence, Eth, don’t worry. It’s probably real windy outside so the plane just has to work a little harder than usual.” He gently eased Ethan down into his seat, with a little difficulty due to the darkness of their surroundings, then slid into his own. Immediately he took Ethan back into his arms and began rubbing his hands up and down his back to comfort him and try to distract him from what was going on around them. The attendants asked them all to buckle their seatbelts so Mark helped Ethan to do his since he was shaking so much. Then, after doing his own, he wrapped his arms back around the younger man and pressed a kiss to the top of his head - at this point, he didn’t care if anyone saw (which was unlikely with it being so dark) because he was more concerned with making Ethan feel safe and secure. “You’re okay. We’re okay. It’s just a little turbulence which is natural for air flight. We’ll pass through it soon enough and then you’ll forget what you were even worried about, okay?” He felt Ethan nod from where his face was pressed into his chest and just held him tighter, even going so far as to rock him side to side in an effort to calm his nerves. The plane jolted a few more times, and within a few more minutes the lights flickered back on. The cabin crew asked them to remain seated for a little while more until they were certain that the turbulence had passed, and when they were happy, Mark unbuckled both their seatbelts and stroked a hand through Ethan’s hair.

“How are we doing?” he asked softly, watching as Ethan paced his breathing, doing the exercises that he’d noticed him routinely doing every so often. They were definitely in order to try and ease his anxiety, that much he knew. Once he’d done another round of deep breathing, Ethan looked at him and offered a weak smile.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Mark said immediately, shaking his head and rubbing a hand up and down Ethan’s arm, “Nothing for you to be sorry for.”

“Still, I knew it was just turbulence but I still panicked,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh and rubbing a hand over his face.

“And that’s okay,” Mark assured, giving him a genuine smile and tipping his head up with a finger beneath his chin to show him. He watched Ethan’s beautiful ever-shifting eyes ease when they fell upon his own, and he quickly stole a quick kiss from his lips. “I’m here for you and you never have to apologise for being scared or worried or nervous. Anything. Your feelings are valid. Especially to me.”

“Yeah…” Ethan said slowly, swallowing hard before shifting to lay his head on Mark’s shoulders, “So are yours. I just get real emotional sometimes, huh?”

“A little,” Mark said with a soft chuckle, sliding an arm around Ethan’s shoulders, “But like I said. It’s okay. I get emotional sometimes too, and you’re always there for me.”

They passed the rest of the flight quietly talking, as well as watching a film on Netflix, and with Mark watching Ethan play Animal Crossing. It was a little over seven hours since they set off from LAX when they touched down in Florida, and Mark could tell that Ethan was more than grateful to be on the ground again. As soon as they were allowed to get out of their seats, Ethan was up, packing the switch and earphones into their carry on bag. Mark laughed at his eagerness, though they had a little bit to wait before they left the plane, and as they descended the stairs he saw Ethan’s body visibly relax. Good. He was glad. Luckily they didn’t have any trouble retrieving their luggage and were soon well on their way to their hotel in a taxi. Whilst Ethan seemed to be quiet and taking in the fact that they’d made it off of the plane, Mark took the momentary distraction to organise something of a little surprise for him on his phone whilst they drove. 

The hotel was bright, clean and the staff were friendly, which were the most important factors when staying in a hotel. When they received the key cards for their room, they headed up in an elevator and he saw Ethan’s face relax with relief when they finally stepped foot into their room. And it was a lovely room, if he did say so himself. There was a wide window and a sliding door on one wall, as well as a spacious en suite bathroom, and a king size bed. The sliding door opened out onto a small balcony which overlooked the city, and also had a great view of the skyline - he’d put in a request for them to be on a higher floor so that Ethan would be able to look up at the sky whenever they were back here in the mornings and evenings. When the boy himself spotted the view from the balcony he gasped and looked at Mark over his shoulder, “Come look at this view!”

Smiling to himself, Mark wandered over and stopped just behind Ethan to have a look, his gaze taking in just how beautiful it looked - it’d look even better at sunset and sunrise for sure. “Pretty,” he murmured, before he turned his gaze to Ethan who wasn’t watching him back, “But not as pretty as you.”

Now, Ethan did turn to look at him. His face flushed and he bit his bottom lip, to which Mark paid a lot of attention. Seemingly able to read his thoughts, Ethan turned and pressed closer, laying a kiss upon his lips. With a sigh of relief, Mark slid his arms around Ethan’s waist and held him tight as their mouths melted together. He was gradually becoming addicted to kissing this boy and would never get enough of it. Turning them around, he backed Ethan up to the bed and laid him down, crawling on top of him so he could keep making out with him whilst enjoying the comfort of their bed for the next few days. His hands settled in Ethan’s hair, fingers drifting through the soft locks, whilst Ethan’s rested on his backside, squeezing every so often. As much as he would’ve liked to carry on until they were both naked, in the back of his mind he knew that his surprise for Ethan was waiting and they needed time to get ready. Breaking apart from the boy with a gasp, he leaned their foreheads together and he smirked as they watched each other from the close angle. “Before we get too ahead of ourselves… We need to shower and get ready to go out.”

Ethan was clearly confused from the knitting of his eyebrows and he cocked his head to one side, “Go out? We just got here. I thought we were ordering room service for food.”

“Yes, well, our plans have changed,” Mark grinned, sitting up and moving off of him. He stretched his arms above his head and moved towards the bathroom, “I’m gonna take a shower. Be right back.”

Within an hour, they were both showered, changed and their suitcase unpacked. Ethan was still confused, as Mark could tell from the way he kept glancing at him with a strange look on his face. Mark wasn’t going to give in though. Besides, he’d be finding out soon enough! The daylight outside was slowly fading away, and Mark knew they had to get a move on. Once they were both satisfied that their hair was dry and looking acceptable, they made their way out of the hotel. When they got another taxi from outside the hotel, Mark made sure Ethan stood back a little as he quietly told the driver where to take them. He didn’t want Ethan to know where they were going until they got there. The driver understood - she’d probably had loads of customers doing the same sort of thing before - and beckoned Ethan over once she knew where to go. Mark grinned and opened the door for him, and followed him into the backseat once he was settled. It took half an hour or so to get to the gates of the park, and when he saw them, Ethan made a noise of surprise and turned to him, eyes bright, “We’re going to Disney early?! Mark, you’re the best.” He was pulled into an eager hug and felt Ethan’s heart racing in his chest which made him smile warmly to himself as he pressed his face into Ethan’s shoulder.

“I just thought you’d like something to cheer you up after such a shitty experience with the flight,” Mark spoke quietly, turning his head to press a kiss just below Ethan’s ear. He felt Ethan inhale and exhale slowly before he pulled back from the hug. His eyes were a little teary which made them shine like the ocean and Mark had never been more in love with this beautiful man than this moment.

“Thank you,” he said genuinely, giving a small grin, “I’m so excited! Disneyland in the dark is supposed to be really pretty!”

Mark nodded his agreement and wiped away a tear that had escaped down Ethan’s cheek, “I’ve heard that too. Especially now we can see all the colours.”

Ethan bit his bottom lip and his eyes seemed to take on a look of wonder as the taxi made its way through to the car park before the ticket gates. Their driver parked as close as she could get, then she turned around to smile at them fondly, “Folks like you guys make me love my job. You’re so cute, if you don’t mind me saying!”

Mark gave a chuckle as he glanced sideways and saw Ethan’s cheeks flush pink. He reached into his wallet and handed the driver her fare, and quickly said, “Please keep the rest as a tip. It’s not every day we’re driven by someone so cheerful. Thanks for helping keep this a secret.”

Her eyes widened when she counted the notes she was given but she said nothing - not wanting to be rude and give back a tip. Looking back up at them, she offered a warm smile and glanced between the two of them, “You both have a great time tonight. The park looks beautiful this time of day. Scream on the rollercoasters for me!”

“We will,” Ethan giggled, before they both got out of the taxi and waved her off, then turned and made their way to the ticket gates. Mark had their tickets already paid for on the Disney app so he showed it to the ticket booth staff, who scanned the QR codes in return for giving them their one day wristbands. These they then scanned at the ticket barriers and they passed through into the park. Mark was already loving watching Ethan for his reactions - even as they passed underneath the tracks of the train and came upon the town square which led to Main Street USA, there was a sparkle in his eyes and a look of awe on his face. And as the lights around them began to flicker on as the light of day died down, the colour of the lights reflected beautifully off of the planes of his cheekbones and jaw. Ethan truly was the most breathtaking person he’d ever met. When they were walking down Main Street, Mark pulled them to a stop at the bakery, his mouth watering. They could do with a pastry or two, plus it gave them a good excuse for staying in this part of the park which was the second part to his surprise. Once they’d picked out what they wanted - including coffee which Mark very much needed after such a long day - they walked back out onto the street and a hush had descended upon everyone else as if they knew something was about to happen. Mark was well on his way to finishing his pastries already, having worked up an appetite from the events of the day, when loud, animated music began playing and he spied some neon, illuminated lights appearing at the end of Main Street. He grinned behind his coffee cup, turning to see that Ethan had noticed too.

“Wait, is this a new parade?” he asked eagerly, “This isn’t the normal parade… I’ve seen it before,” he answered himself, walking a little closer to the edge of the sidewalk so he could get a better look. Mark followed to stand at his side, and as the parade turned onto Main Street properly, there was an announcement over the music that the Paint The Night parade was about to begin. He heard Ethan gasp, grabbing onto his arm, and he grinned as he saw the joy in his eyes. He’d do anything to see that every day for the rest of his life…

And so, the Paint The Night parade began slowly making its way down the street towards them, the floats full to the brim with vibrant colours which danced and shimmered through the dark night sky above and around them. Tinkerbell led the way with Peter Pan, and when she waved her wand, a fountain of every colour imaginable exploded from the end. Mark struggled not to watch Ethan the whole time since his eyes danced and glittered with each colour that flashed before them; red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink… The parades were extravagant and lit up the night, and Mark understood just why they’d named it the Paint The Night parade - with all of the colours before them, you really could believe that you could paint away the darkness of the night around you. And to think… a week and a half ago, he wouldn’t have been able to appreciate this parade the way it should be appreciated. It was all thanks to Ethan that he was able to experience this array of colours shimmering and exploding before his eyes. Oh, he’d never wanted to kiss the man more than he wanted to in this moment, but he had to hold back. It wasn’t a good idea right now. Not here in such a crowded area. As the floats of Monsters Inc, Cars, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast all slowly passed them, Mark felt Ethan slide their hands together and he glanced around before weaving their fingers together and giving them a squeeze. He looked at Ethan and saw he was watching him back, the explosion of colours from the floats lighting up his eyes so that when Mark looked into them, there were rainbows there. His heart squeezed with adoration and he turned to face him properly, wishing he didn’t have a coffee to hold so he could grab his other hand. The music changed as the parade carried on, and some of the words from the song washed over him as he stared into the eyes of the man he loved.

_ ‘Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you _

_ Go see the world 'cause it's all so brand new _

_ Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine _

_ It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly _

_ Welcome to the rhythm of the night _

_ Something's in the air you can't deny…’ _

Mark felt his heart pounding at the words that resonated with him in this song, ‘Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you’, since he knew that, if he could, he would show Ethan the universe if he could, including the stars in the sky. Ethan was the only one who deserved to see the world and he wanted to spend his life making that happen. As he got lost in the whirlwind of colour, lights and words, Ethan shuffled closer to him, so he stepped closer too. Maybe he wanted to tell him something. The younger man took his hand, pressing it to his chest just above where his heart was, and Mark took comfort in the feeling of Ethan’s steady heartbeat beneath his palm. He was going to look after this heart for all eternity, that was for sure. With something of a nervous smile, and a strange look in his eyes, Ethan leaned close to his ear and whispered, so softly, a secret just for the two of them, “I love you.” 

  
As he pulled back, eyes tinged with a hint of nerves, fireworks began to crackle and explode in the sky above them. Mark felt his heart beating like a jackrabbit in his chest and he knew his eyes would be comically wide at this point. And he was definitely  _ not  _ about to cry... Setting his coffee cup on the floor, he lifted his now-free hand and cupped Ethan’s jaw, blinking away the tears now spilling down his cheeks, and he leaned close to speak, firm and sure of his heart, “I love you too, Ethan.” And, to hell with whoever might be watching, he pressed in to kiss him lovingly, able to feel Ethan’s heartbeat soar beneath the hand on his chest. The fireworks above continued to whistle, bang and pop, pouring colour and shadows simultaneously onto their faces as they held each other close and kissed the night away. In the back of Mark’s mind, he noted that the lyrics which now stood out to him from the parade song were, ‘ _ Something’s in the air you can’t deny… _ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes:  
> I've no idea what the difference is between a highway and freeway, in the UK all I know for long distance journeys is the motorway so sorry about that... AND I know pretty much nothing about US geography so excuse any rookie mistakes in this chapter :')  
> Also, I've never been on an aeroplane before, yes shock horror! (*Markiplier voice* When I was a kid we were too poor to afford plane tickets) So I just did some research about airports and stuff and went with that. Annnnd never been to Disney :(((((((((((( It's my dream one day aha! So yeah pretty much this whole chapter was research based.  
> I hope it wasn't too long for you all!  
> And so, the time is near, and these stoopid bois must face their final curtain... JK!!! Whilst this is the last chapter of ASIWALS, I'm making this the first part in a series woohoo! I don't think I'll be doing another multi-chapter story, it'll likely be a load of oneshots dipping in and out of these two's lives together. I have plenty of ideas already written down, but if you have any, I'm more than happy to hear what you guys want! Bearing in mind that we're sticking in this universe! Although I'm happy to take recommendations for other stuff that you want to see written! I keep my ideas/updates on my profile!  
> Now I'm actually gonna shut up... I just wish there was a way for me to keep you guys more updated! Like I wanna chat to you... :( Oh well!  
> Thanks to each and every one of you that has read, left kudos, bookmarked and commented on ASIWALS, you have no idea how much it means to me! The support has been immense and I couldn't have done it without you. <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic in a loooong time, and my first for Crankiplier, so let me know what you thought - any (helpful) criticism is welcome!


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